Pork and root vegetable casserole with fennel and mustard dumplings

Method

1. Heat the oven to 170°C/150°C fan/gas 3½. Put the plain flour in a shallow bowl and season. Dust the pork in the flour and shake off the excess. Heat a glug of oil in a flameproof casserole over a medium-high heat and brown the meat for 5 minutes until golden (you may need to do this in batches). Transfer to a plate.
2. Heat a little more oil in the casserole and fry the shallots for 5-7 minutes. Add the veg and lardons, then fry for 3-5 minutes until the bacon starts to crisp. Add the garlic and fry for another minute.
3. Return the pork to the casserole, along with 450ml of the cider, the stock, mustard and bay leaves. Season, then cover and cook in the oven for 2½ hours, stirring every now and then. Remove the lid and cook for 30 minutes more. Add the apples and tarragon and cook for a further 10 minutes.
4. Once you’ve added the apples to the casserole, make the dumplings. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour and ground fennel seeds with a generous pinch of salt and pepper. In a separate small bowl mix the greek yogurt and mustard, then mix into the flour. With floured hands, divide the mixture into 6 equal pieces and roll into balls. Handle the dough gently or the dumplings will be heavy.
5. Turn the oven up to 190°C/170°C fan/gas 5. Put the dumplings on top of the casserole, re-cover and cook for 15 minutes until the dumplings have puffed and the apples are soft. Uncover and cook for 5 minutes more. Pour in the rest of the cider and scatter with a little tarragon. Serve with greens.