Lancashire Hot Pot

A 'one-pot wonder' that makes good use of a large cast iron-pan. Here, the potatoes trap all the flavour of the lamb. Agria potatoes are best as they hold together nicely, have a great texture and are good at crisping up.

(Serves 6)

Ingredients

• 2 carrots, peeled and diced
• 3 sticks celery, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 white onion, diced
• 1 large turnip, diced
• 1 large swede, diced
• 100 ml olive oil
• 500 g lamb shoulder, cut into 12 pieces
• 1 litre beef stock
• 3 tomatoes (fresh or tinned plum variety), chopped
• 4 sprigs of fresh thyme
• ½ cup chopped curly parsley
• salt and pepper
• 4 large Agria potatoes (or any other floury variety), peeled
• 100 g butter

Method

Sauté the vegetables in the olive oil until soft. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Using the same pan, sear the lamb on all sides over a high heat until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes. Remove and set aside.

Deglaze the pan with the stock, tomatoes, thyme and parsley. Season with salt and pepper, then bring the mixture to the boil and leave to simmer.

Preheat the oven to 180ºC.

Thinly slice the potatoes and toss in a bowl with some salt and pepper.

Arrange the meat evenly in an ovenproof dish. Place the cooked vegetables on top, then make an overlapping layer of potatoes to cover. Pour in the stock mixture to just cover the potatoes.

Cut the butter into cubes or knobs and scatter over the potato layer. Bake for 1 hour, at which point the potatoes should be golden brown.