Lancashire Hot Pot
Ingredients
900g/2lb best end and middle neck British lamb, sliced into chops
1 tbsp groundnut oil
butter
4 lamb's kidneys, skinned, cored and cut into bite-sized pieces -(optional)
3 onions, sliced into 1cm/½in wedges
1 tbsp plain flour
570ml/20fl oz freshly boiled water
½ tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 fresh bay leaf
2 thyme sprigs
900g/2lb potatoes, cut into 2cm slices
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
Method
1. Pre-heat the oven to 170C/325F/Gas 3.
2. Trim the lamb of any excess fat and pat dry with paper towel.
3. Heat the oil and a small knob of butter in a large heavy-based frying pan until very hot. Add the lamb, two or three pieces at a time, and fry until brown, turning once. Once browned, put them in a wide 3.5-litre casserole. Brown the pieces of kidney.
4. Once the meat and kidney are in the casserole, add the onions to the pan. Fry over medium heat, adding a little more butter to the pan if necessary, for about ten minutes until browned at the edges.
5. Stir in the flour then gradually add the hot water and Worcestershire sauce, stirring until the flour and liquid are smoothly blended. Season with salt and pepper and bring to simmering point. Pour over the meat in the casserole.
6. Add the bay leaf and thyme, then arrange the potato slices on top in an overlapping pattern. Season the potatoes and dot the surface with a few dabs of butter.
7. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and put in the oven. Cook for 1 hour 30 minutes. Towards the end of cooking time, remove the lid and brush the potatoes with a little more butter. Then place under the grill to crisp up. Alternatively, remove the lid and increase the heat to 200C/400F/Gas 6 for the last 15 minutes of cooking.
8. Remove the bay leaf and thyme before serving.
ENJOY - especially in cold and wintry weather.
