Lancashire Hotpot
Prep time: 2.5 hrs | Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
• 1kg lamb shoulder or neck cut into 3–4cm pieces
• 20g plain flour
• 5g fine sea salt 1
• 2g freshly ground black pepper
• 15ml neutral oil or any animal fat
• 25g unsalted butter
• 3 onions, thinly sliced
• 2 carrots, sliced 1cm thick
• 8g garlic, finely chopped
• 500ml hot lamb or beef stock
• 10ml Worcestershire sauce
• 2g fresh rosemary
• 2 bay leaves
• 1kg potatoes peeled and sliced 3–4mm thick
• 25g unsalted butter, cubed
• 3g fine sea salt 2
• 1g freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
1. Heat oven to 160°C. Pat lamb dry, then toss with flour, salt 1 and pepper. Heat oil and 25g butter in a large pan and brown the lamb in batches, 6–8 minutes; remove to a bowl.
2. In the same pan, cook onions and carrots with a pinch of salt over medium heat until lightly golden, 6–8 minutes. Stir in garlic for 1 minute. Add Worcestershire, then stock, thyme and bay; return lamb and any juices, simmer 3 minutes, taste and adjust.
3. Spoon over the lamb and onions. Top with potatoes in neat shingles; add cubes of butter and season with the rest of salt 2 and pepper.
4. Cover tightly with a lid or foil and bake 1 hour 30 minutes. Uncover, increase to 190°C and bake 25–35 minutes until the potatoes are deep golden and the edges are bubbling.
5. Rest 10 minutes so the juices settle. Spoon over the buttery juices and serve hot (classic with pickled red cabbage or buttered greens).
Storage.
Cool, cover and refrigerate up to 3 days. Reheat at 160°C, covered, for 20–25 minutes, then uncover to re‑crisp for 5–10 minutes. Freeze well-wrapped for up to 2 months; thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat as above.
