Slow cooker recipe vegetarian’s delight

This vegetarian recipe is from The Great American Slow Cooker Book by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough ($25, Clarkson Potter).

Vegetable Stew With Cheddar Dumplings

For the stew:

2 1/3 cups canned diced tomatoes

1 ¼ pounds cauliflower, trimmed and cut into small florets

¾ pound zucchini, diced

1 ½ cups cut green beans

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

¾ cup green peas, fresh or frozen

2/3 cup vegetable broth

1 tablespoon dried basil

1 ½ teaspoons dried marjoram

½ teaspoon salt

For the cheddar dumplings:

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

¾ teaspoon baking powder

¾ teaspoon mustard powder

½ teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons very cold, unsalted butter, cut into little bits

1/3 cup shredded mild cheddar cheese

½ cup milk

Combine the tomatoes, cauliflower, zucchini, green beans, onion, peas, broth, basil, marjoram and salt in the slow cooker.

Cover and cook on low for 5 hours.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, mustard and salt in a large bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter or a fork, working the dough repeatedly through the tines until the mixture resembles coarse but dry sand.

Stir in the cheese and milk until a wet dough forms. Drop by rounded tablespoons all over the top of the stew until they are about half submerged in the liquid. Cover and cook on high for 1 hour, or until the dumplings are set and the sauce is bubbling around them.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.