HOT POT

A warming, wintery recipe, perfect for Xmas Eve or Boxing Day

Layers of soft potatoes on top of braised lamb in a thick, comforting gravy

It doesn’t get more hearty than a Lancashire Hot Pot - a dish of braised lamb, vegetables and herbs topped with sliced potatoes & baked.

My family have often made this for our Christmas Eve meal - it has a festive feel to it (in a sense of it being baked and comforting) but is also a welcome contrast in flavours to everything tasting of sage and cranberry this time of year.

I like to use lamb shanks, with the bone in, which helps give the sauce great texture and flavour.

For the vegetables, I use onion, carrot and celery, chopped up quite chunkily so as not to fall apart during the bake. Swede and celeriac would also be great options, cut to the same size chunks.

For the potato topping, this calls for a waxy variety, thinly sliced and layered on top. When baking atop the lamb stew, they will absorb some of the sauce becoming sticky and almost chewy in the most satisfying way.

So let’s get into it!

FULL RECIPE

Ingredients (serves 2-3)

For the braised lamb:

2 lamb shanks

4 tbsp plain flour

1 onion - quartered

2 carrots - chopped into large inch chunks

3 bay leaves

3 sprigs of thyme

300ml red wine

700ml fresh beef stock

For the vegetable base:

40g butter

1 large onion - chopped into 1cm dice

1 large carrot - chopped into 1cm dice

2 celery sticks - chopped into 1cm dice

2 garlic cloves - finely chopped

40g plain flour

1 sprig of thyme - leaves picked

Salt & pepper to taste

For the potato topping:

600g charlotte potatoes

50g butter - melted

Salt & pepper

Method:

Start with the braised lamb. Dust the shanks with flour and salt all over then brown well in a very hot pan. Add the quartered onion and carrot chunks and let them get some colour too, as shown.

Getting a good colour on the lamb and vegetables before braising to increase flavour potential!

Add the bay and thyme followed by the wine and stock. If the shanks aren’t covered then top up with water. Put the lid on and braise in the oven at 160C for 3-4 hours, when the meat will easily fall off the bone.

The lamb is ready when it easily falls away from the bone

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a casserole pan and sweat the diced onion, carrot and celery for 5 minutes. Add the garlic, picked thyme, salt and peper for a further few minutes then add the flour. Stir to combine well and cook out for 3-4 minutes.

Chopped vegetables with flour to thicken the sauce

When the lamb is soft, use tongs to remove the meat and set aside in a tray. Strain the sauce through a sieve into the pan with the butter, vegetables and flour - you can then discard the onions and carrots from the lamb braising pan.

Straining the braising base to make up the sauce

Bring the sauce up to a simmer and allow it to thicken. Add the chunks of lamb back into the sauce, stir through then add the mixture into a baking dish.

For the potatoes, slice thinly by hand or using a mandolin. Add to a bowl and pour over the melted butter and mix.

Stirring the potatoes through the melted butter makes sure every piece is nicely greased

Arrange in roughly even layers on top of the lamb mixture. I like to finish with a neat layer on top for presentation purposes, as shown.

A final layer of nicely presented spuds for that finishing touch!

Bake in the oven at 180C for 45 minutes until golden and bubbling. Spoon into bowls and enjoy!