Lamb Hot Pot

Sue Manson & Maryann Wright
Y Polyn, Carmarthen

Not much more than meat and potatoes, as simple a marriage as can be imagined, but not a relationship that can be hurried. These ingredients need to get to know each other well, slowly warming to each other until the meat is tender and the potatoes are rich with the flavour of the juices. For the dish to aspire to real greatness you need to makes sure it’s golden brown and crispy on top too. As to the origins of the dish, some say that it was made for the miners of the North West who took the stone pot, wrapped in blankets to keep it warm, down the pit for their lunch. Others claim the aristocracy invented it by using the same method in preparation for a day at the races. My money’s on the miners - food as honest, warming and deliciously simple, as this is typical of the resourcefulness that emerged from the kitchens of working people scraping a living.

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 210 minutes
Serves: 4–6 (Feeds six comfortably or four uncomfortably)

Ingredients:

4 Freedom Food labelled lamb neck fillets
50g / 2oz plain flour
salt and black pepper
4–5 tbsp olive oil
50g / 2oz butter
1 large onion, thinly sliced
fresh thyme leaves
500g / 1.2lb carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
1500g / 3.5lb Maris Piper potatoes, thinly sliced
1 litre / 1¾ pints chicken stock
buttered leeks or cabbage, to serve

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 140°C / 275°F / Gas Mark 1.

Trim the lamb fillets of any sinew and cut into 2.5cm/1 inch pieces. Mix together the flour and seasoning in a large bowl. Add the lamb and toss until evenly dusted.

Coat the base of a large, heavy casserole dish (of about 24cm/9.5 inch diameter) with olive oil and heat. When the oil is really hot, brown the lamb pieces in a single layer, making sure that the oil doesn’t cool and removing the pieces from the pot when browned.

Add half the butter to the pan. Add the onions, thyme leaves and carrot and cook until the onions and carrots have softened and remove them from the casserole. Layer the lamb, the onion carrot mixture and the potatoes in the same pot, finishing with a thick layer of potatoes.

Add the stock and bring to a boil on the hob. Season well, put the lid on and place into the oven for 210 – 240 minutes. Melt the remaining butter and brush the top with melted butter, put it back in the oven, lidless for fifteen minutes. Serve with buttered leeks or cabbage.

 
All recipes published in the Freedom Food Celebrity Recipe Collection 2009.