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Lancashire hotpot is a
stew A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been cooked in liquid and served in the resultant gravy. A stew needs to have raw ingredients added to the gravy. Ingredients in a stew can include any combination of vegetables a ...
originating from
Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancas ...
in the North West of England. It consists of lamb or mutton and
onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus '' Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the on ...
, topped with sliced
potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Uni ...
es (or a more traditional topping of
pastry Pastry is baked food made with a dough of flour, water and shortening (solid fats, including butter or lard) that may be savoury or sweetened. Sweetened pastries are often described as '' bakers' confectionery''. The word "pastries" suggests ...
or puff pastry) and baked in a heavy pot on a low heat.


History

In Lancashire before
industrialisation Industrialisation ( alternatively spelled industrialization) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial society. This involves an extensive re-organisation of an econo ...
, families would work at home spinning thread while
scrag end Scrag end is a cut of lamb and mutton taken from the neck and common in the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. It is a primal cut separated from the carcass during butcher A butcher is a person who may slaughter animals, dress their fles ...
s of mutton stewed slowly over a low fire. Family members could attend to the cooking over many hours. In the initial stages of industrialisation and urbanisation, both men and women of all ages had long, strictly regulated work hours that made it impossible to cook food that required extensive attention and preparation time. Often lacking their own cooking facilities, housewives would carry a
pudding Pudding is a type of food. It can be either a dessert or a savoury (salty or spicy) dish served as part of the main meal. In the United States, ''pudding'' means a sweet, milk-based dessert similar in consistency to egg-based custards, inst ...
or stew to the baker's oven and leave it there to cook.


Preparation

The recipe usually calls for a mix of mutton (nowadays more frequently lamb) and onions covered with sliced potato. Many regional variations add vegetables (
carrot The carrot ('' Daucus carota'' subsp. ''sativus'') is a root vegetable, typically orange in color, though purple, black, red, white, and yellow cultivars exist, all of which are domesticated forms of the wild carrot, ''Daucus carota'', na ...
,
turnip The turnip or white turnip ('' Brassica rapa'' subsp. ''rapa'') is a root vegetable commonly grown in temperate climates worldwide for its white, fleshy taproot. The word ''turnip'' is a compound of ''turn'' as in turned/rounded on a lathe and ...
, or
leek The leek is a vegetable, a cultivar of '' Allium ampeloprasum'', the broadleaf wild leek ( syn. ''Allium porrum''). The edible part of the plant is a bundle of leaf sheaths that is sometimes erroneously called a stem or stalk. The genus '' Al ...
s). Many early recipes add lamb
kidney The kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped organs found in vertebrates. They are located on the left and right in the retroperitoneal space, and in adult humans are about in length. They receive blood from the paired renal arteries; blo ...
s and modern variants may use beef or bacon chops instead of lamb, or have a pastry topping. The traditional recipe once included
oyster Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but not ...
s, but increasing cost eliminated them from common usage. Pickled red
cabbage Cabbage, comprising several cultivars of ''Brassica oleracea'', is a leafy green, red (purple), or white (pale green) biennial plant grown as an annual vegetable crop for its dense-leaved heads. It is descended from the wild cabbage ( ''B.&n ...
or
beetroot The beetroot is the taproot portion of a beet plant, usually known in North America as beets while the vegetable is referred to as beetroot in British English, and also known as the table beet, garden beet, red beet, dinner beet or golden bee ...
, and in some areas
Lancashire cheese Lancashire is an English cow's-milk cheese from the county of Lancashire. There are three distinct varieties of Lancashire cheese. Young ''Creamy Lancashire'' and mature ''Tasty Lancashire'' are produced by a traditional method, whereas ''Crumbly ...
, are often served as an accompaniment.


Etymology

It is often thought that the "hot pot" referred to is a pottery dish used to cook
casserole A casserole (French: diminutive of , from Provençal 'pan') is a normally large deep pan or bowl a casserole is anything in a casserole pan. Hot or cold History Baked dishes have existed for thousands of years. Early casserole recipes c ...
s in
British cuisine British cuisine is the specific set of cooking traditions and practices associated with the United Kingdom. Historically, British cuisine meant "unfussy dishes made with quality local ingredients, matched with simple sauces to accentuate flavou ...
. However, it is more likely to refer to the idea of a jumble or hodge podge of ingredients in the filling. Sir Kenelm Digby's 1677 ''
The Closet Opened ''The Closet of the Eminently Learned Sir Kenelme Digbie Kt. Opened'', commonly known as ''The Closet Opened'', is an English cookery book first printed in 1669. The title page states that it is based upon the writings of Sir Kenelm Digby, "pub ...
'' contains a recipe for the "Queen Mothers Hotchpot of Mutton". Similarly, ''
Mrs Beeton's Cookery Book ''Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management'', also published as ''Mrs. Beeton's Cookery Book'', is an extensive guide to running a household in Victorian Britain, edited by Isabella Beeton and first published as a book in 1861. Previously p ...
'' contains a recipe for "Hotch Potch", calling for neck of mutton, onion, carrot, peas,
cauliflower Cauliflower is one of several vegetables in the species ''Brassica oleracea'' in the genus '' Brassica'', which is in the Brassicaceae (or mustard) family. It is an annual plant that reproduces by seed. Typically, only the head is eaten – t ...
and lettuce.


See also

* Hodge-Podge * Irish stew *
Nikujaga is a Japanese dish of meat, potatoes and onion stewed in sweetened soy sauce and mirin, sometimes with ''ito konnyaku'' and vegetables. Nikujaga is an example of ''yōshoku'' ( Western-influenced Japanese cuisine). Generally, potatoes make up ...
* Pot roast * Scotch broth *
Scouse Scouse (; formally known as Liverpool English or Merseyside English) is an accent and dialect of English associated with Liverpool and the surrounding county of Merseyside. The Scouse accent is highly distinctive; having been influenced he ...
* Stovies


References


External links


History of Lancashire Hotpot at Foods of England
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lancashire Hotpot British stews Casserole dishes Lamb dishes Lancashire cuisine English cuisine Potato dishes