LAMB AND KIDNEY HOTPOT

Comfort food at its best. This dish is a treat and not so far from a lancashire hot pot as one would think. There are so many recipes for lancashire hot pot, that one would become confused and muddled just trying to find an authentic version. This is my version that can serve as a complete meal or part of a larger meal with vegetables or even pickled cabbage.

Recipe;

900g lamb

4-6 lamb kidneys(cleaned)

600 ml lamb stock

1 lge onion(roughly chopped)

1.2 kg potatoes -Maris piper preferably

2 bay leafs

1 tbsp of tomato puree

3 cloves of garlic

1 tbsp of fresh thyme

1 tbsp of fresh rosemary

small glass of port

olive oil

unsalted butter

sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

plain flour

1 medium carrot

4" piece of celery

1/3 of a leek(white)

Method;

First prepare the carrot,leek and celery. Chop as finely as possible and reserve. Peel the potatoes and reserve in clean water.

Clean the kidneys and cut, along with the lamb into bite sized pieces. Coat in seasoned flour, heat a large skillet or saute pan with a little olive oil, brown the lamb and kidneys then remove and reserve till needed. Add a dash of oil to the pan and saute the onion and garlic(being careful not too let the garlic brown) then add the carrot,celery and leek cook for a further 2
minutes, pour on a glass of port and deglaze the pan. Once deglazed return the lamb and kidneys, add the tomato puree and combine. Pour on the stock and add the finely chopped herbs and bay leaf.
In a suitable oven proof dish grease the bottom with a little butter and line with potatoes that have been cut into thin rounds. Now add the lamb and kidney filling adjust the seasoning and top with the rest of the potatoes. Brush the potatoes with melted butter and place in a pre-heated oven 200c/gas6 for approximately 1 hour.

Note; Frequent brushing of the potatoes during cooking will give a better crisp finish,but will prolong the cooking time.