Lancashire Hotpot—English comfort food for a cold night

Lancashire Hotpot—traditional English food at its most comforting—is made with lamb, onions and carrots topped with sliced potatoes and baked until fork tender.

IT’S NOT EVEN OFFICIALLY WINTER YET, but you wouldn’t know it here in Chicago. Or in a lot of places. But snow and cold and more snow and ice are having us craving warm meat-and-potato meals, stick-to-your-ribs food that ideally requires firing up the oven. Like Lancashire Hotpot.

Lancashire Hotpot. Even the name promises warmth. It’s a traditional dish from England’s northwest coast, where they know a thing or two about cold weather. At its most basic, it is lamb and onions topped with sliced potatoes and baked in the oven. Some versions include root vegetables—carrots, turnips, parsnips and such. Some add garlic, leeks, celery, bacon and lamb kidneys (the Brits do love kidneys, don’t they?).

We first made Lancashire Hotpot here at Blue Kitchen several years ago, also in mid-December, also really, really cold even though not officially winter yet. Our delicious, comforting version includes carrots, garlic, bacon, bay leaves and dried thyme, but otherwise stays close to the humble origins of the dish. You’ll find more back story and our recipe here.