Lamb and Leek Hotpot
The first time I came across a hotpot was when Marcus Wareing prepared it in the first Great British Menu series. Even though he took great care to research his subject and prepared it most lovingly I couldn’t help but turn up my nose at it. It’s as if the original cook thought it’s a great idea to throw every single root vegetable under the sun into the pot with a bit of meat in a slapdash way and bung it in the oven, hoping that in a few hours his meal would somehow be magically transformed into something wonderful. Instead all the vegetables turn into the same colour and mysteriously taste the same, seeing that it’s difficult to discern between a potato, turnip and who knows what else that’s been cooked ad infinitum.
As you can deduce, the whole idea of the Lancashire hotpot didn’t tempt me at all. Browsing through loads of recipe books (because that’s just the crazy thing I do in my free time) I came across this recipe. My main problem with it was that it called for double (heavy) cream. Now don’t get me wrong. I love cream but paired with lamb which is fatty, the dish suddenly became ultra-rich and just too much to stomach. What’s more the sauce wasn’t visually appealing. Why? The stock and cream refused to become friends and instead cream globules would drift in the stock sauce.
After a few failed attempts getting the stock and cream to merge (racist I tell you!) I decided to substitute the cream with white wine. Voila! Suddenly the once weighty dish transformed into something lighter and it just …… worked. The leek-sandwiched lamb is delicately flavoured which basically comes with two types of potatoes. The potatoes at the bottom of the pot soaks up all the leek and lamb juices and the ones on top are buttered and slightly crispy.
Getting too confident (read lazy and pushed for time) one day, I decided to skip the first step where you have to fry the leeks and onion in butter first. I rationalised that the vegetables will be cooked for almost 3 hours, so why bother with the frying? Big mistake. One, the frying takes the vegetables’ volume down. Instead it was a huge struggle to get all the ingredients to fit in the pot I usually prepared it in. In fact, I had to take some potatoes out in order to accommodate it. Two, the leeks and onion were crunchy, yes, even after such long cooking time. I have learnt my lesson…
P.S. The hotpot will be served at Cate‘s weekly ARF/5-a-day weekly event.
Lamb and Leek Hotpot
Preparation: 20 mins – Cooking: 3 hours
Ingredients
- 50g (2 oz) butter
- 400g (14 oz) leeks, trimmed and sliced
- 1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
- 800g (1¾ lb) boneless lamb, cubed
- 15ml (1 tbsp) plain flour
- 15ml (1 tbsp) olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, peeked and crushed
- Salt and pepper
- 800g (1¾ lb) waxy potatoes, peeled and cut into ½cm (¼ inch) slices
- 5ml (1 tsp) chopped thyme
- 300ml (½ pint) vegetable stock
- 150ml (5 fl oz) white wine
Method
- Melt half of the butter in a 3.5 litre (6 pint) flameproof casserole. Add the leeks and onion, stirring to coat with the butter. Cover the casserole and cook over a low heat for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, toss the lamb in the flour to coat lightly. Lift out the leek and onion using a slotted spoon and set aside. Add the olive oil to the casserole and heat it, then brown the meat in batches with the garlic and plenty of salt and pepper. Remove from the heat, take out the meat and set aside.
- Layer half the potatoes in the bottom of the casserole with salt and pepper. Spoon half of the leek mixture over the potatoes and level the leek layer. Next, add all the meat on top of the leeks, and then spoon the remaining leeks over the lamb. Arrange the remaining potatoes on top in an overlapping layer, sprinkle with herbs, then pour in the stock and wine.
- Return the casserole to the heat and bring to a simmer. Cover and place in the oven at 170°C (fan 150°C/340°F/gas 3) for 1 hour 50 minutes.
- Remove the lid and dot the potatoes with the rest of the butter. Cook the hotpot, uncovered, for a further 30-40 minutes until the potatoes are golden brown.
Serving Suggestion
The hotpot is a meal on its own but feel free to prepare some vegetables on the side if you like.
Notes
- Please do not skip the first step. It’s vital that the leeks and onion get fried a bit at first.
I’ve made lamb shank hot pot which was also delicious. There are so many variations that I think it would be impossible to get to the routes of the traditional Lancashire hot pot. As long as people are still cooking the dish then it’s a survivor I say, naturally it will evolve, develop, and people will add their own twist. Don’t know if the link will work but here goes:
http://www.thekitchenaffair.com/The_Kitchen_Affair/Blog/Entries/2008/1/15_Lamb_Shank_Hot_Pot.html
or go to http://www.thekitchenaffair.com
by Sonia
on 01. Feb, 2008
I love the sound of this hotpot – leeks and lamb go so well together. I know exactly what you mean about the leeks and onions not cooking despite 3 hours in the oven though – I’ve also learnt my lesson!!
by Antonia
on 01. Feb, 2008
Thank you – this was perfect timing. I was browsing tastespotting this morning while trying to put together a shopping list for the weekend.
We’ve just eaten this for dinner, and the result was four empty plates and a happy family. Yum!
by Clare
on 02. Feb, 2008
[...] The Greedy Gourmet goes to Lancashire for inspiration this week, coming back with her Lamb and Leek Hotpot: [...]
by ARF/5-A-Day #106 | Food & Life
on 07. Feb, 2008
Hahaha! I used to work for Marcus back in the day so this was most amusing!
I would advise against using lamb at the start of Feb though.
Venison would be much preferable and more economical in the winter months.
This is a nice recipe though…. I am an advocate of slow cooking, “sous vide” to be precise, cooking in a vacuum pouch in a waterbath.
by Olly Rouse
on 26. Mar, 2009
Thanks for your input, Olly. I haven’t had much opportunity to experiment with venison yet and have never heard of “sous vide” up until now but I’m always game for new cooking methods.
by Michelle
on 26. Mar, 2009