Lancashire Hotpot

Lancashire Hotpot is one of the oldest English recipes on record. It’s a simple dish that has survived because it’s so tasty and easy to make. What I love about Lancashire Hotpot is that it has all the beautiful, earthy flavours of lamb and is impressive enough to serve for a celebration like Easter but it’s far cheaper to make than roasting a joint of lamb. I always use a mix of bone in and filleted lamb neck to get the best flavour. Ask your butcher to slice the bone in lamb so that it’s easier to layer in your casserole dish.

INGREDIENTS
Serves 2 Adults & 2 Kids
500g bone-in lamb neck
450g diced lamb neck fillet
1 large onion or 2 medium ones
350g carrots
500g waxy potatoes
35g butter (plus extra to dot on top)
1 tbsp plain flour
1 tsp dried thyme (plus extra for sprinkling on top)
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp mint sauce
2 large or 4 small bay leaves
650ml beef stock
salt

• Pre-heat the oven to 190° (170° Fan). Put the butter into a large cooker-to-oven casserole dish over a medium high heat then generously salt the bone-in lamb and brown for a couple of minutes of each side in the fat. Remove the lamb to a dish then salt and brown the filleted lamb until coloured all over then remove to the same dish.
• Peel and slice the onion(s) and add to the casserole dish then add the Worcestershire sauce and deglaze the pan picking up any tasty bits from the bottom of the pan. Soften the onions for a few minutes then add the trimmed and chopped carrots and sprinkle over the flour.
• Gradually add the stock and stir to thicken with the flour. Once all the stock is in, add the mint sauce, thyme, and bay then stir. Bring the mixture to the boil for 1 minute then reduce the heat, add the meat back to the pan and simmer while you prepare the potatoes. Taste check at this point if you need to stir in more salt.
• Slice the potatoes into 3mm wide slices then arrange on top of the casserole, sprinkle with a little extra thyme and dots of butter. Put a lid on the casserole then into the oven, on the middle shelf, for 1 hour before removing the lid, turning the heat down to 170°C (150°C Fan) and cooking for a further hour. Grill the top for a few minutes if you want an extra crispy top.