Ingredients
- 6 lamb chops, weighing approximately 500g/1lb 2oz in total
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large carrot, roughly chopped
- 1 celery stalk, trimmed, roughly chopped
- 1 large onion, roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- 1 litre/1¾ pints beef stock
- 8 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 100g/3½oz butter, melted
- 2 large floury potatoes, such as Maris Piper, sliced into 1cm/½in-thick discs
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
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Preheat the oven to 170C/150C Fan/Gas 3.
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Season the lamb chops with plenty of salt and freshly ground black pepper. Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat, then fry the lamb chops for 2-3 minutes on each side, or until browned all over. Transfer the lamb chops to a medium casserole.
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Fry the carrot, celery and onion in the same frying pan for 4-5 minutes, or until coloured and softened.
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Stir the flour into the vegetables and continue to fry for 2-3 minutes, or until the flour turns a biscuit colour.
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Pour in the beef stock and stir well until the liquid has thickened and there are no visible lumps of flour.
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Transfer the vegetables and thickened stock to the casserole. Add 7 thyme sprigs and the bay leaf, then bring the mixture to the boil. Reduce the heat until the mixture is just simmering.
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Melt the butter in a small saucepan over a medium heat.
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Arrange the potato slices on top of the hotpot, overlapping the edges slightly. Brush the potato slices all over with the melted butter. Sprinkle the top with a few thyme leaves from the remaining sprig of thyme.
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Bake the hotpot in the oven for 1-1½ hours, or until the potato topping is crisp and golden-brown and the vegetables are tender.