Collect together your equipment (see Recipe Notes below) and ingredients.

Prepare the Chicken and Vegetables: prepare the mixed vegetables: peel if necessary, wash, trim and roughly chop. Place them all in the food processor.

Blitz until very finely chopped.

Heat the butter and oil in a large frying pan over a moderately hot heat. Add all the vegetables and cook for 5 minutes, stirring from time to time, until softened and lightly caramelised.

As the vegetables cook, finely chop the tarragon. Set half aside to add to the casserole later.

Peel, if necessary, and chop the potatoes into small chunks and add to the slow cooker with the sweetcorn, half the tarragon and the caramelised mixed vegetables.

Add a little more olive oil to the frying pan (no need to wash it out) and brown the chicken. There is no need to cook it through, just brown it on both sides. It will finish cooking in the slow cooker.

Make the sauce: add the white wine to the chicken in the pan and cook on high until reduced by half. Stir well scraping any sticky bits from the bottom of the pan into the sauce.

Sprinkle over the flour and stir thoroughly. Cook for 1 minute.

Add the stock and bring to the boil, stirring all the time. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring, and pour into the slow cooker with the chicken and the salt and pepper.

Stir everything together thoroughly and make sure that most of the ingredients are submerged in the liquid. If not add a little more liquid.

Cover and cook in the slow cooker for 4 hours on high or 6 hours on low.

Make the dumplings: make these just over an hour before the end of cooking time. Place the tarragon leaves into a food processor and pulse until they are finely chopped.

Add the flour, baking powder, salt and pepper and pulse to mix.

Now add the cubed butter and pulse until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs.

Add the milk and sour cream and pulse until mixed into a sticky dough.

One hour before your stew has finished cooking, stir in the tarragon you set aside and taste. Adjust seasoning if necessary. Use an ice cream scoop or spoon to roughly measure out 6 – 8 dumplings, placing them directly onto the top of the casserole.

Replace the lid and cook for a further hour on high.

Serve: serve with the dumplings and add some extra green vegetables if you like.