Lamb Hot Pot – Spuds Topping

Ingredients

For the filling

• 700g well-trimmed lamb leg meat (or leg steaks)
• 2 tsp sunflower oil
• 2 medium onions, peeled and thinly sliced
• 5 medium carrots, peeled and thickly sliced (about 300g prepared weight)
• 2sticks of celery , chopped
• Perl Barley to taste – Remember they swell a lot during cooking
• 3 tbsp plain flour
• 600ml lamb stock, made with 1 lamb stock cube
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves or ½ tsp dried thyme
• 1 rosemary stalk or ½ tsp dried rosemary
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• flaked sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper

For the topping

• 3 medium potatoes (about 500g)

1. Trim any visible fat off the lamb and cut the meat into rough 3cm chunks. Season generously all over with salt and pepper.
2. Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan and fry the lamb in 2 batches over a medium-high heat until nicely browned on all sides. Transfer the browned meat to a medium casserole dish– it will need to hold about 2.5 litres.
3. Tip the barley, onions and carrots into the pan with the lamb and sprinkle with the flour. Toss everything together well, then pour over the stock and add the thyme leaves, rosemary and Worcestershire sauce. Stir well.
4. Preheat the oven to 170°C/Fan 150°C/Gas 3½. Peel the potatoes and cut them into slices about 5mm thick. Arrange the slices on top of the lamb, overlapping and layering them as you go. Season with ground black pepper , add some small knobs of butter to add crunch and cover with a tight-fitting lid.
5. Bake the hotpot for 1 hour, then remove the lid and bake for a further 45 minutes or until the potatoes are nicely browned and the lamb is tender. Check by poking with the point of a knife into the centre of the lamb filling – if the meat is done the knife should slide in easily. Serve with freshly cooked greens.