Lancashire Hotpot - Best Recipe

Potatoes that are crispy on top and nicely cooked though, soaking up the lovely flavours as they cook mixed with lamb that melts in your mouth.

Just the thing for this freezing weather and so, so good served with my braised red cabbage.

It's one of those dinners that you can eat again, even though your full!
I did a post on this a good age ago but it's so good it deserves another mention.

Cottage Pie with Guinness and Other Good Things

Who can't love a nice cottage pie?

I came across this recipe by Gordon Ramsay that has Guinness in it. I made it exactly (which is strange for me to follow a recipe exactly) and it was totally delicious.

I did put come cooked peas and carrots in the bottom of mine.
If you've never used a potato ricer you must immediately go out and get one - they are amazing! I brought mine for just £5 from Marks and Spencer.

To serves 6 you will need:
a large pie dish
2 tbsp olive oil
900g good quality (low fat) minced beef
sea salt and black pepper
3 medium onions, peeled and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
a few thyme sprigs, leaves only
2 nice fat plum tomatoes, chopped
2 tablespoons of tomato purée
330ml bottle of Guinness
5 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
300ml chicken stock (I used fresh home made chicken stock) but you can use a Knorr stock cube
1 kg floury potatoes, such as Maris Piper or King Edward, peeled and roughly cubed
50g butter a handful of grated cheddar, plus extra for the top of the pie
1 large egg yolk
plus a good handful of cooked peas and carrots if you fancy

How to do it:
Put a large frying pan over a high heat and add a thin layer of olive oil. Season the mince with salt and pepper and fry, stirring, in two or three batches, until nicely browned.
Drain off any fat, although you shouldn't really have worth worrying about if you used good quality mince.
Put the cooked mince into a bowl and set aside.
In the same pan you just used, put it over a medium-high heat and add a little olive oil. When it's nice and hot, fry the onions, with the garlic for a few minutes until until soft and golden.
Now add the thyme and cook for another minute or so.
Add the browned mince, tomatoes and tomato puree. Stir constantly for 4-5 minutes.
Add the Guinness and Worcestershire sauce and boil until the liquid has reduced by half. Pour in the stock and return to the boil.
Turn the heat down and simmer for 20-25 minutes, by which time the mixture should be lovely and thick and glossy.
Continue to simmer for another 5-10 minutes if it doesn’t seem quite thick enough. Once done remove it from the heat.

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F or Gas 4

Meanwhile, add the potatoes to a pan of salted water, bring to the boil and cook until tender. Drain and return to the hot pan for 15 seconds or so, to dry out, then take off the heat.
Pass the potatoes through a potato ricer back into the pan or mash smoothly. Mix through the butter, cheese and egg yolk.
Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Put the cooked peas and carrots into the bottom of the dish if you are using them and then spoon the mince mixture on top.
Spoon the mashed potato on top and rough up the surface with a fork.
Grate over some extra cheese and bake in the oven for about 30 minutes until bubbling and golden brown.