The Sunday Roast · Lancashire

Lancashire Hotpot

Name: Lancashire Hotpot
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 2 h 30 min
Total time: 2 h 55 min
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 800g neck of lamb, cut into chunks; 2 lamb’s kidneys, chopped (optional); 3 onions, sliced; 2 carrots, sliced; 1 tbsp flour; 500ml lamb stock; 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce; 1 bay leaf; 900g potatoes, sliced 3mm thick; 40g melted butter

Mill-town fuel turned national treasure: neck of lamb stewed slowly under a crisp golden lid of sliced potatoes, with kidneys for tradition and pickled red cabbage alongside.

Prep: 25 min
Cook: 150 min
Total: 175 min
Yield: Serves 4
Difficulty: Moderate
Era: Industrial revolution

Ingredients

800g neck of lamb, cut into chunks
2 lamb’s kidneys, chopped (optional)
3 onions, sliced; 2 carrots, sliced
1 tbsp flour
500ml lamb stock; 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce; 1 bay leaf
900g potatoes, sliced 3mm thick
40g melted butter

Method

Oven170°C340°FFan 150°CGas 3

Heat the oven to 170°C / 340°F (fan 150°C, gas 3).
Brown the lamb and kidneys in batches in a little dripping. Remove, then soften the onions and carrots for 8 minutes.
Stir in the flour, return the meat, and add the stock, Worcestershire sauce and bay. Season well.
Tip into a deep casserole. Overlap the potato slices on top in concentric rings, brush with butter and season.
Cover and bake 1½ hours, then uncover and bake 1 hour more at 200°C / 400°F until the potato lid is golden and crisp.
Serve with pickled red cabbage — the traditional and essential counterpoint.

Oven temperatures are given in Celsius, Fahrenheit, fan and gas mark throughout. Quantities are metric, as cooked and written in the UK.