Lancashire hot pot

 

Sundays, before life got even more hectic than usual, used to be a day of fix breakfast for my wife and let her spend a few hours in front of the “tely”, that’s U.K. English for television, watching Coronation Street which for those not in the know is an English television series that has been on the air forever and appears to be not going anywhere soon. It was on this show that I first came across this recipe and I was thoroughly enthralled so much so that I went in search of the ultimate version. 

After searching the Internet and various cook books and talking to relatives in the U.K. I was soon to discover that in fact there IS NO definitive recipe. In fact the only thing the various and sundry recipes had in common was Lamb and Potatoes and even then the debate raged on about “which cut of lamb to use”, neck-leg-kidney,  or “what potatoes were the best”, white or Yukon gold, or even whether or not to use Lamb stock or Chicken stock.

Now I rarely make this recipe because I am supposed to avoid red meat (I have Hemochromatosis which is a fancy Doctor term for excess Iron stored in my liver)  so to me it does not make much difference which part of the Lamb to use  with the exception of the Kidney—- I’m not a big fan of Kidney— nor does it matter which potato although I am partial to Yukon Gold . All that matters to me is that the dish comes out flavorful and satisfying.

So I now present to you my take on Lancashire Hot Pot which by the way is the one my late Father-In-Law just loved and being that he was from Manchester England I take it as a very big compliment.

Ingredients:

Approximately two pounds of lamb- cubed

Two and a half pounds of potatoes sliced like you were making Scalloped Potatoes

One large white onion- diced

1/4 cup all purpose flour— more or less ( I like a nice thick sauce )

2 Carrots- thinly sliced

Healthy dash of Worcestershire sauce

Salt and pepper to taste

Three finely chopped garlic cloves

Two cups chicken stock

Three tablespoons butter

Two tablespoons Canola Oil

Tin foil (or for you Brits—- Aluminum foil lol)

Putting it all together:

Heat the Canola oil in a large skillet and saute the onions until translucent – about two minutes

Remove the onions from the heat and set aside

Add the Lamb, butter, Worcestershire and garlic to the skillet and fry, in batches if necessary, until it is medium rare (Lamb is the best when served Medium)

Remove the Lamb from the heat and set aside

To the liquid in the skillet add the flour and make a Roux

Add enough Chicken stock to get the Roux to the consistency you want

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees

In a large greased casserole dish spread a layer of potatoes followed by carrots and the Lamb mixture

Repeat until all the ingredients are finished

Pour the Roux over the contents of the casserole and give it a bit of a shake to distribute the Roux throughout the casserole

“Bung” (another Brit term—- thanks Jamie Oliver) it in the oven for approximately an hour and a half

Dish it out, tuck in, and be in heaven………….

So there you have it……. another “simple but tasty recipe for the grilling season and beyond”

Until next time…………..

                                                           Bon Appetit