Claridge's Lancashire Hot Pot
John Williams (head chef when I was there was a stickler for the fine detail of preparation – he could tell if you had forgotten to season the meat early on, or hadn’t sweated the vegetables correctly). Having said that, don’t be put off – it’s only a pot of meat and veg, after all. If you have everything ready in advance so you can follow the process as seamlessly as possible, I guarantee this will be a one-pot showstopper.
The thing to remember is that the fat must rise just to the level of the potatoes, but not completely over them, and should glaze them throughout the cooking process.
Ingredients
Preparation
Peel and thinly slice the onions. Peel the carrots and celery and trim the leeks, then cut these vegetables into nicely shaped 2cm pieces. Pick the leaves from the thyme.
Cut the potatoes into barrel shapes to remove the skin and shape them. Using a very sharp knife (or a mandolin), cut the potatoes into 2mm-thick slices. Keep the slices in a bowl of cold water to prevent discoloration.
Cut each lamb fillet into 4 pieces, so 8 pieces in total.
Preheat the oven to 190/175/gas 5
Method
1 Season the neck fillets and cutlets. Heat a splash of vegetable oil over a high heat in a flameproof casserole and brown the pieces of fillet on all sides. Take the fillet out and brown the cutlets the same way.
2 Put the onions into the same pan with a small knob of butter and cook over a medium heat for about 15 minutes, until the onions are soft and coloured; they will take on the flavour from browning the meat. Remove from the pan and set aside.
3 Put then cut vegetables into the pan with the thyme leaves and another knob of butter and sweat them over a medium heat for about 5 minutes until they are slightly soft but not coloured.
4 Now you can assemble the hot pot. Layer the onions over the vegetables in the pan and place the pieces of neck fillet on top.
5 Cover the meat with a layer of potatoes and season lightly with salt and pepper. Place the lamb cutlets in the pot and cover with the remaining potatoes. Put a few knobs of butter over the potatoes, season well and add the rosemary and bay leaf.
6 Bring the stock to the boil in a small pan and pour over the hot pot. Place in the oven and cook for about 1 ¾ hours, occasionally spooning out the stock that rises to the top and pouring it back over the potatoes. This will help them glaze well.
7 When the hot pot is cooked, the potatoes will look nicely glazed and you will be able to pierce them easily with the tip of a small knife. You will also see the meat on the cutlets coming away from the bones. Ideally, leave to cool for 20 minutes before serving. Although I’m not convinced any accompaniment is needed, if you like you can serve the hot pot with a green vegetable such as broccoli.
Extracted from How To Eat In by Adam Byatt (Bantam Press, £25)
www.trinityrestaurant.co.uk
The thing to remember is that the fat must rise just to the level of the potatoes, but not completely over them, and should glaze them throughout the cooking process.
Ingredients
- 3 onions
- 2 carrots
- 2 sticks celery
- 2 leeks
- ½ bunch thyme
- 1.5kg large King Edward potatoes
- 2 lamb neck fillets (total weight 1.2kg)
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 4 lamb cutlets
- vegetable oil
- 100g butter
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- 1 bay leaf
- 400ml brown chicken stock
Preparation
Peel and thinly slice the onions. Peel the carrots and celery and trim the leeks, then cut these vegetables into nicely shaped 2cm pieces. Pick the leaves from the thyme.
Cut the potatoes into barrel shapes to remove the skin and shape them. Using a very sharp knife (or a mandolin), cut the potatoes into 2mm-thick slices. Keep the slices in a bowl of cold water to prevent discoloration.
Cut each lamb fillet into 4 pieces, so 8 pieces in total.
Preheat the oven to 190/175/gas 5
Method
1 Season the neck fillets and cutlets. Heat a splash of vegetable oil over a high heat in a flameproof casserole and brown the pieces of fillet on all sides. Take the fillet out and brown the cutlets the same way.
2 Put the onions into the same pan with a small knob of butter and cook over a medium heat for about 15 minutes, until the onions are soft and coloured; they will take on the flavour from browning the meat. Remove from the pan and set aside.
3 Put then cut vegetables into the pan with the thyme leaves and another knob of butter and sweat them over a medium heat for about 5 minutes until they are slightly soft but not coloured.
4 Now you can assemble the hot pot. Layer the onions over the vegetables in the pan and place the pieces of neck fillet on top.
5 Cover the meat with a layer of potatoes and season lightly with salt and pepper. Place the lamb cutlets in the pot and cover with the remaining potatoes. Put a few knobs of butter over the potatoes, season well and add the rosemary and bay leaf.
6 Bring the stock to the boil in a small pan and pour over the hot pot. Place in the oven and cook for about 1 ¾ hours, occasionally spooning out the stock that rises to the top and pouring it back over the potatoes. This will help them glaze well.
7 When the hot pot is cooked, the potatoes will look nicely glazed and you will be able to pierce them easily with the tip of a small knife. You will also see the meat on the cutlets coming away from the bones. Ideally, leave to cool for 20 minutes before serving. Although I’m not convinced any accompaniment is needed, if you like you can serve the hot pot with a green vegetable such as broccoli.
Extracted from How To Eat In by Adam Byatt (Bantam Press, £25)
www.trinityrestaurant.co.uk