Traditional Lancashire Hot Pot

This is a tasty treat which is traditionally made in the North West of England county of Lancashire. Very often found on a pub menu as a warm winter meal.

Ingredients:(To serve 4)

(Alternative ingredients and US equivalents in brackets)

100g (1 cup) of dripping, lard or butter. (Use Coconut oil for vegetarian option).

900g (2 lb) of stewing lamb. (Use plant-based meat substitute for vegetarian option).

3 Lamb kidneys (Optionally omit or find vegetarian option).

2 Medium Onions (or one large one).

4 Carrots (or one large).

1 Small Turnip (or Swede)

Optional; a small number of peas to add colour (or color).

25g (1 oz) plain flour.

2 tsp of Worcestershire sauce (Lee Perrins or vegetarian version).

500ml (2.5 cups) of lamb stock (Use sauce granules or vegetarian option).

2 bay leaves (If not available then either omit or use mixed fresh or dried herbs)

900g (2 lb ) potatoes.

You can scale the ingredients to suit your needs.

In this example, we are cooking for two.

Chop up the meat into diced chunks using a knife or with my favourite method of using kitchen scissors.

Peel and slice the carrots. Chop up the onion. Peel and slice the potato. Peel the turnip then slice some to lay on the top and dice the rest.

You may wish to 'sweat' the onion separately and set it aside to add later.

Having prepared all ingredients ready to add in turn.

Next, set your oven to 160c/fan 140c/Gas 3. and start it warming up.

Then, using a suitably sized Skillet or wok melt the dripping or substitute.

Add in the diced meat or substitute and stir until nice and brown all over.

Once done transfer to a dish and set aside for later.

Next add each of the prepared vegetables and the Worcestershire sauce, or vegetarian substitute.

Stir, add the plain flour then stir until well mixed.

When the vegetables have heated through add in the stock, the meat, and also the peas if you are including them.

When all the ingredients are well mixed it is time to transfer to a casserole type dish.

Level the mixture and then neatly arrange layers of the sliced potato on top.

Add in the sliced turnip then drip melted butter or dripping over the top.

Mixing in some dried or fresh herbs can add extra taste and visual appeal.

Place the cover on the dish and put it into the warmed oven.

Set the timer for an hour and a half.

Then when the time ends remove the lid and cook for a further 30 minutes.

The last 30 minutes may produce an acceptable browning to the potato topping but it is usually also a good idea to pop it under the grill.

Keep an eye on it and remove it when you are happy with the level of browning.

Using a kitchen torch can also produce a lovely finish.

Your delicious Lancashire Hotpot is then ready to serve and enjoy.

Re-create the pub experience by serving with your favourite beer.

It is a good idea to make a batch of Hotpot and then freeze it in suitable foil dishes.

(The one on the left in the picture is a vegetarian version which also tastes delicious).

If you produce a large batch and freeze a few then you can be ready to serve up a great meal on a cold winter's evening - without the 2+ hours of preparation.

I do hope that you make and enjoy this fine traditional dish. It has been proven to be a great meal for hundreds of years, not just in Lancashire but all over the British isles.

For those of you that are interested in such things, my online research for similar HotPot recipes indicates that a single serving will have around 1000 calories, 56g of carbs, 12g of sugars, 7g of fibre and 70g of protein.

Let me know when you make it and maybe even put up a few pictures.

Thank you for reading this instructable.