Lancashire hot pot
This recipe is from James Martin's new book, The Collection. This mutton or lamb stew made with sliced potatoes should be on every British pub menu
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 2 hours
Serves: 4
900g (2lb) best end and middle neck of British mutton or lamb, chopped into large, bite-sized pieces
1tbsp vegetable oil
butter
4 lambs' kidneys, cored, skinned and chopped quite small
350g (12oz) onions, cut into 1cm (1/2in) pieces
1tbsp plain flour
600ml (1 pint) hot lamb stock
1/2tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 bay leaf
2 sprigs fresh thyme
900g (2lb) potatoes, peeled and cut into 2cm (3/4in) slices
1 Preheat the oven to 160 C, 140 C fan, 325 F, gas 3. Trim the lamb of any excess fat. Heat the oil with a little butter in a large frying pan until it is very hot, then brown the pieces of lamb two or three at a time. As they cook, put them into a casserole (3.5litre/6pint capacity). Brown the pieces of kidney too and tuck these in among the meat.
2 Fry the onions, adding a little more butter to the pan if necessary, for about 10 minutes or until they turn brown at the edges. Stir in the flour to soak up the juices and gradually add the hot stock and Worcestershire sauce, stirring or whisking until the flour and liquid are smoothly blended. Season with salt and pepper and bring it up to simmering point. Pour it over the meat in the casserole.
3 Add the bay leaf and thyme, then arrange the potato slices on top in an overlapping pattern. Season the potatoes and add a few dots of butter to the surface.
4 Cover with a tight-fitting lid and cook in the oven for 1 1/2 hours. You can remove the lid and brush the potatoes with a little more butter, then place under the grill at the end of the cooking time to crisp up. Otherwise, turn the heat up during the last 15 minutes of cooking time and remove the lid. Remove the bay leaf and sprigs of thyme before serving.
Per serving: 780cals, 46g fat, 19g saturated fat, 42g carbohydrate
James Martin's collection:
Scallop risotto with black pudding
Roast pork
Watercress soup
Seared halibut with mussels and onion sauce
Roast chicken with tapenade
Chocolate mousse
Sherry trifle with raspberries
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