Lancashire Hot Pot

The lack of warm weather (is it June already?), is really starting to get to me. When the sun does come out, it's generally accompanied by a bitter wind and my summer clothes are still safely packed up in the top of my wardrobe. Although Lancashire Hot Pot is the perfect meal for cold, winter nights, I think this year's "summer" allows us to extend the cosy menu for a little bit longer.

Lancashire Hot Pot is both one of mine and Rob's favourite dishes. It is the easiest dinner to cook and tastes fantastic. We've both explored different recipes for this classic and between us have come up with our ideal version. With about 10 minutes of prep, plus an hour and a half in the oven. You can put your feet up and turn the TV on whilst you wait for the oven to work its magic.

Lancashire Hot Pot

Serves 2

Ingredients

400g Lamb Neck Fillet

1 Large White Onion

2 Sprigs of Fresh Thyme

1 Large Baking Potato

250ml Lamb Stock (preferably homemade)

Salt and Pepper

20g Butter

Method

Preheat your oven (non fan) to 180C.

Chop your lamb neck into generous chunks and season with salt and pepper. 

Finely slice your white onion.

Mix the lamb and the onion together and put into a deep casserole dish.

Place your fresh thyme on the top of the mixture.

Using a mandoline (or your awesome knife skills), slice your potato width ways as thinly as possible.

Make up your stock and pour over the filling until it just reaches the top of the lamb. It's best to err on the side of caution with the stock as you don't want your pot to be too watery. Don't worry if you have some left over. We used a homemade lamb stock (made up from lamb carcass, carrots, onions, butter and herbs), but a stock cube or stock pot would also be fine.

Lay your potatoes on the top. Slightly overlap them so you're covering the entire dish.

Sprinkle some black pepper over the top and dot bits of butter onto the potatoes.

Bake in the oven for 1 hour 30 minutes. If the top is becoming too crispy, cover it with a lid or tin foil.

Grilled Marinated Lamb and Stove Top Dauphinoise

Weekends. They call for long, lazy cooking for delicious and indulgent dinners. I like to spend at least one day at the weekend exploring a new recipe from one of my books, taking my time while I prepare it and enjoying the warm fullness I feel as my head hits the pillow. Weeknight meals are often quick, rushed and convenient (unless you fancy eating at 10pm - which is fine for Rob but a little less ideal for me), so the indulgence to be able to cook anything I like on a lazy Saturday or Sunday is enough to get me excited for the weekends.

Grilled Marinated Lamb and Stove Top Dauphinoise

If you're stuck for a weekend meal, this one is a good mix of quick and slow. The slowness coming from the overnight lamb marinade and dauphinoise and then a final quick grilling of the lamb that fills your kitchen with the most delectable scent. These recipes come from Nigel Slater's Real Food.

Serves 2

Lamb Ingredients

- 4 large Garlic Cloves (crushed)

- 2 tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice

- 4 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

- 2 tsp Herbes de Provence

- Freshly Ground Black Pepper

- 2 Lamb Fillets (about 250g each - I would recommend Neck Fillets)

Dauphinoise Ingredients

- 500g Waxy Potatoes (Charlotte or Maris Peer are the best for this)

- 1 packet chopped Pancetta

- 2 Garlic Cloves (crushed)

- 2 Handfuls Fresh Rocket (Arugula)

- 200ml Double Cream

- 100ml Whole Milk

- 30g Grated Fresh Parmesan

Method

Mix together all your ingredients for the lamb marinade and massage into your lamb fillets. Leave overnight if you can, but if you're doing it on the same time then make sure you leave it for at least an hour.

Thinly slice your potatoes. If you've got a mandoline then that is ideal, but if not then take your time with a sharp knife to get some thin slices.

Fry your potato slices with some butter until they are beginning to brown slightly.

Add your pancetta cubes and fry until they are nice and crispy. 

Add the garlic and cook for another minute or so.

Add your rocket to the pan with the double cream and milk. If you can add a lid to your pan at this point then that's perfect. I didn't have a lidded frying pan, so I made a substitute lid out of tin foil. 

Cook at a low/medium heat for 10 minutes.

While your potatoes are cooking away, take a griddle pan (ideally) and get it nice and hot. Add the lamb and give it a good press down so that grill lines will start to form on the meat. 

Cook on each side for 3-4 minutes. You want your lamb to still be pink inside. Cook for longer if you like you're not a fan of this. 

Remove the lamb from the pan and place on a chopping board. Cover with tin foil and leave to rest for 10 minutes.

Remove the lid from your dauphinoise and stir in a your fresh parmesan. Cook for a few more minutes and then remove from the heat.

You're now ready to serve! :)

River Cafe Risotto Milanese

Risotto is one of those dishes that I have always struggled with. The same could be said for rice in general. It seems to be my downfall. Last year I tried a Sausage, Red Wine and Broad Bean Risotto, which was the most successful that I'd been but it was far from traditional. It was time to take it back to basics and learn from the best. Recently having purchased the original River Cafe Cook Book from a charity shop, we have been working our way through Italian classics. I am now in love with the idea of spending a summer in Italy, exploring different pizzas, pastas and wine and pottering round on a Vespa in a white sundress. Finally, I have discovered why risotto is so often raved about. The Risotto alla Milanese is a rich, creamy and satisfying dish and although it does take a lot of love and attention to achieve, the finished result is well worth the effort.  

Risotto alla Milanese 

from The River Cafe Cook Book

Serves 6-8

Ingredients
300g Arborio or Carnaroli Rice
1 litre Chicken Stock
150g Butter
2 tbsp Olive Oil
1 White Onion, peeled and finely chopped
75ml Dry White Wine
175g Parmesan, freshly grated

Method

Heat the chicken stock. 

Melt 75g of the butter and all the oil in a large saucepan. 

Gently fry the onion until soft. 

Add the rice, and off the heat, stir until the rice becomes totally coated; this takes only a minute. 

Return to the heat, add 1 cup of hot stock and simmer, stirring, until the rice has absorbed nearly all the liquid. 

Add the saffron. 

Continue to add more stock as the previous addition is absorbed. 

Nearly all the stock will have been absorbed by the rice; each grain should have a creamy coating and yet still be al dente. 

Add remaining butter in small pieces, the wine and the parmesan, being careful not to overstir.