Lancashire Hotpot

Ingredients

• 1kg lamb neck fillet or shoulder, cut into 3cm pieces
• 2 lamb kidneys, cored and chopped (optional)
• 3 large onions, thinly sliced
• 1kg waxy potatoes such as Desiree
• 500ml lamb stock
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 3 sprigs thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 50g butter, melted
• 2 tbsp lamb dripping or vegetable oil
• Salt and black pepper

Before you cook

• Trim heavy fat from the lamb and cut the meat into 3cm pieces.
• Toss the lamb with the flour, a teaspoon of salt and plenty of pepper.
• Peel the potatoes and slice them 3mm thick, ideally on a mandoline, then keep them in cold water.
• Slice the onions thinly and strip the thyme leaves.

Steps

1. Heat the oven to 160C fan.
2. Set a large casserole over medium-high heat and add the dripping.
3. Brown the floured lamb in two batches, four minutes a batch, and lift each one out to a plate.
4. Add the kidneys if using and sear them for two minutes, then add them to the plate.
5. Turn the heat to medium, add the onions and cook for ten minutes until soft and lightly golden, scraping the base as you go.
6. Return the lamb to the pan and stir in the thyme, bay leaves and Worcestershire sauce.
7. Pour in the stock and bring it to a simmer.
8. Take the pan off the heat and level the surface of the meat.
9. Drain the potato slices and pat them dry with a tea towel.
10. Arrange the slices over the meat in overlapping circles, starting at the outside and working in.
11. Season the potato layer with salt and pepper and brush it generously with the melted butter.
12. Cover the casserole with its lid and bake for two hours.
13. Remove the lid, raise the oven to 200C fan and bake for a further thirty minutes until the potatoes are crisp and deeply browned at the edges.
14. Rest the hotpot for ten minutes, then serve with pickled red cabbage.