Tender lamb pieces stewed with onions, carrots and fresh herbs. All served under a layer of sliced potato. This Lancashire Hotpot is a perfect dish for winter! It is delicious, filling and very, very warming. This traditional English lamb dish is a staple at my table and definitely one to try! Serve with some of my other warming winter dishes, or other traditional English recipes such as my spiced cauliflower cheese!

The History of Lancashire Hotpot

Like a lot of dishes from England, the origins of Lancashire Hotpot are not the clearest. As is often the case, earliest recordings are more mentions of a dish existing, rather than a record of it’s creation. Hotpot was first mentioned in The Liverpool Telegraph in 1836, already being a dish served in the area.

The origin of the dish is thought to have come from the need for mill workers in the area to have a cheap meal. This came around the time of the industrial revolution, and people in England were no longer working from their cottages, but instead spending long days in factories. Typically the meat they could afford would be tough, such a mutton. This kind of meat requires slow cooking to become tender. As a result, the workers needed a way to slow cook this meat while not at home.

Hotpot is thought to have been an invention to solve this challenge. Workers could put the meat into a pot with broth, onons and potatoes and then leave it in the oven until they came home. They would then be met with a nutritious and warm meal when they got home. Early recipes used mutton, but also other cheap porteins. Oysters, interestingly, were another popular choice! There is a great article here from Nosey Chef, which goes into a bit more detail.

My Recipe

Modern recipes are a bit more developed and flavourful than the originals. Most make use of fresh herbs and garlic, as well as more vegetables such as carrots. Additionally, Worcestershire sauce is often included to add depth of flavour. This interestingly also contributes a flavour profile that the oysters woud have given!

My recipe is the same in this regard. I choose to use fresh rosemary in the stew part of the dish, and fresh thyme on the potatoes with melted butter. This gives a good variety by bite as well! While traditional recipes call for multiple laters of stew and potatoes, I make this with a single layer of potatoes on top. This is a common method of preparation these daya as it means you can make it all in one pot.

When cutting the potatoes, I highly recommend that you use a mandolin. It is a lot of potato to cut up by hand with a knife, and having them all evenly sliced ensures it all cooks evenly. This gives thin slices, but I prefer that. The slices on top crisp up and caramelise with the sauce that bubbles on top of them. The ones beneath cook through nicely and become lovely and soft.