Cooking With Mum: Seth James

To celebrate Mother’s Day, we caught up with Chef Seth James (Wills Domain) to ask what it’s like to be in the kitchen with his Mum. We were also lucky enough to have Seth share his Mum’s delicious Curry Pie & Dumplings recipe with us. Keep reading to see what we found out!

What’s your favourite memory of yourself and your mum in the kitchen?

One of my favourite memories of being in the kitchen with my mother would obviously be when she was cooking dinner! I remember hanging around like a fly So I could try what she was making those precious moments instilled in Me a great love for food.

What’s the best cooking hack you’ve learnt from your mum?

Double dipping to ensure everything tasted nice.

In what ways do you think you’re like your mum?

I would have to say that everything would be in preparation of the food. Having hungry kids and a husband, they would come home from work and after school activities and all want food straight away. Also having a variety of food to always capture your imagination and to please everyone at the table . Food was always a time when all the family were together and today’s day I believe food brings everyone together.

Are there any of your mum’s cooking habits that annoy you when you cook together?

I would say growing up my biggest hate was over cooked vegetables especially zucchinis. To this day I still do not like them.

Why have you chosen the recipe below in particular to share with us for Mother’s Day?

This recipe reminds me of when I was a kid  on cold stormy nights we would have this. To break the dumplings off and have them with the lamb and veg was soul warming its also a segway  into learning how to share and enjoy sharing meals (there were never enough dumplings).

Mum’s Curry Pie and Dumpling Recipe

Prep time: approx. 30 minutes | Cooking time: 2 hours

Ingredients

1 1/2 kilos of lamb shoulder

1/4 cup of oil

2 onions diced

2 carrots diced

1 small celeriac diced

2cm knob ginger

2 garlic cloves crushed

2 teaspoons of gara masala

2 teaspoons of ground turmeric

1 teaspoon of ground cumin

1/4 tsp of chilli powder

2 tablespoons of tomato paste

4 stalks of thyme

2 stalks of sage

1 tablespoon of sugar

4 cups of chicken stock

1 tablespoon of corn flour

50ml water

for the crust

24 cm by 20 cm pre-lined pie tin 

2 1/2 cups of self-raising flour

1 tablespoon of butter

1/2 cup of rolled oats 

2 tablespoons of chopped chives

1 tablespoon of salt

Method

1. Dice lamb into 2 cm cubes
2. Heat oil in large fry pan add lamb in batches ends lightly colour
3. Take lamb out of the pan and add vegetables and roast until Golden Brown
4. Strain vegetables and meat to remove fat
5. Add vegetables and meat back to the pan and garlic ginger and cook until aromas start releasing add tomato paste and cook for two minutes
6.  Add herbs and stock you want the stock to just cover the land bring to the boil then simmer for 1 hr 15 minutes or until lamb is soft.
7. By this time the liquid should have reduced by a third. you then want to make a slurry with cornflour and water. Whisk in to lamb and cook for 5 minutes to thicken. Season with salt and allow to cool

To Make The Crust:

1. Pre-heat oven to 170 degrees celsius 
2. Sift flour into large bowl, rub in the butter, 
3. Stir in chives and Oates and then add milk until a firm dough is achieved.
4. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface into a 24 centimeter by 20 centimeter rectangle.
5. Roll into a log and cut 1 centimeter thick then arrange slices over pie mix.
6. Whisk one egg and brush over pastry.
7. Cook in a preheated oven at 170 degrees for approximately 45 minutes.

Image features: Seth James and Mum Tia

Image credit: Seth James & Rachel Claire

Read Other Cooking With Mum Features:

Click here to read Alice Zaslavsky’s Cooking With Mum Mother’s Day feature.

Click here to read Mark Best’s Cooking With Mum Mother’s Day feature.

Other Mother’s Day Ideas

Mother’s Day Gift Ideas – Support local businesses this Mother’s Day with our Mother’s Day edition of #takeawayforwa

Mother’s Day Brunch at Home Ideas and recipes for you to bring brunch to Mum!