lancashire hotpot
Today, like the rest of the week, has been blustery cold and I’ve yet to regain feeling in my fingers and toes since stepping outside this morning. Needless to say ‘warming’ and ‘comforting’ were high on the criteria for supper tonight and a Lancashire Hotpot was just the ticket. This frugal dish consists of a lamb and onion stew topped with layers of potatoes, slow-cooked in a low oven until meltingly tender, and will quickly thaw you out in these icy conditions. You’ll be amazed by how incredibly such a seemingly humble dish tastes (especially when paired with something like a 1999 Vosne Romanée from Burgundy as we did). Serve with buttered carrots or red cabbage, if you’re a traditionalist.
Lancashire Hotpot
serves 2
350g (0.8lb) diced lamb (choose a cut with a bit of fat)
4 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 3mm thick slices
60g (4 tbsp) unsalted butter, melted
4 onions, thinly sliced
125ml (1/2 cup) red wine
freshly ground black pepper
25g (3 tbsp) plain flour
pinch white pepper
2 tsp sea salt
pinch of sugar
Preheat the oven to 140°C (285°F).
Season the diced lamb with the sugar, 1/2 tsp of the salt and freshly ground black pepper. Dust with the flour and arrange in the base of an ovenproof dish – we used a round one, 18cm (7 inches) in diameter.
Heat 1/4 (15g) of the butter in pan on a medium-low flame until it foams, then add the onions and 1/2 tsp salt and cook for a couple of minutes until softened (take care to not colour them too much). Add the red wine and simmer until the wine has evaporated. Place the cooked onions in an even layer above the lamb pieces.
In a small bowl place the potato slices with another 1/4 (15g) of the melted butter, the remaining salt and the white pepper, and toss to coat. Arrange in one layer over the onions in a nice pattern, letting them overlap as necessary.
Cover the hotpot with a heavy lid and cook in the preheated oven for two hours.
Remove the hotpot and increase the oven temperature to 170°C (338°F). Brush the potatoes with the remaining melted butter, then return to the oven to cook uncovered for another 30 minutes, until lovely and golden.
Serve bubbling hot from the oven with your choice of veg and a good bottle of Pinot Noir.
gourmet traveller 
very nice dish. it sounds delicious. hope you’ve warmed back up!
It looks lovely. I thought traditionally Lanc. hotpot also had kidney?
Yes, kidneys are often included but from what I understand there’s actually no definitive recipe – it was just the cheapest cuts that get thrown in (in fact traditionally mutton was used instead of lamb)
i love this! i’ve not thought about layering sliced potatoes on top of a casserole. gotta do this soon!
Looks like an excellent dish to warm you from the inside out. Thank you for sharing.
Looks good! I love the way it looks on the picture.
Wow, I’ve got to make it, sounds so warming… we’ve had snow here today.
Wow this looks so Yummi .. i’ll try it soon
That sounds delicious. The recipe and the photo are great. Can’t wait to taste it. :)
I thought that was an apple pie when I first saw it! It sounds nice and hearty and I suppose you could use beef if you’re not a lamb fan.
Very nice presentation. Thanks for the recipe. Saw a sattelite photo of GB yesterday – if I didn’t know better, I’d have thought it was somewhere in the frozen North. Stay warm!
This looks wonderful I love potato prepared in many ways. Thanks for the recipe.
Can I substitute the wine with another type of liquid? What would you suggest? Thanks!
The wine is actually not essential – you can just skip that step all together (the wine is cooked until it has evaporated, so there is no need to substitute with another liquid).
As a Lancastrian, Hotpot is traditionally made with neck of lamb. (although the bones do make it fiddly to eat) My Mum always taught me to make it in layers in a deep sided casserole finishing with the potatoes. But as you say, cheap cut of lamb, no need for the wine, simply stock, definitely no kidney ! the slower and longer you cook it, the better it will taste. Truly one of the best winter warmers ever. Also excellent for popping in a slow cooker (crock-pot) and leaving all day.
We just finished eating my veal version. It was incredible and I’m posting it tonight with a link to your wonderful blog. Thanks so much.
Glad you enjoyed it and great to know that veal works just as well!
I prepared this recipe as directed and it ended up quite soupy. When I took it out of the oven the liquid nearly reached the rim of the pot. My guests kept calling it a stew; is this how it is supposed to turn out and I just didn’t realize?
No, there shouldn’t be much liquid at all as all the ingredients are relatively dry – the only thing I can think off is maybe your onions were too wet? They should be moist but there should be no excess liquid – you need to cook them until the wine all evaporated off.
One of the best British dishes ever. It’s all about the potatoes for me, delicious.
[…] made the same way. Post-scriptum: For yet another wonderful lamb and potato dish, check out this Lancashire Hotpot from Gourmet Traveller. It’s a thing of […]