Weekend Hot Pot

This came about one still cold weekend when going through the freezer.  I had a bag full of ends of Lamb.   There were a few chops and spare ribs and a few other odd bits; none of which would make a meal for us on their own.

The great thing about this dish was I threw it all in the slow cooker and left it.  It cooked slowly all day and melted in the mouth when we came to eat it but it would work just as well in a casserole dish in a low oven.  

Ingredients

Olive oil
onions
garlic 
celery
carrots
lamb - bones included (This would work well with chops or spare ribs but plenty)
Rosemary
Mint 
Potatoes 
Red Wine - good covering 
Chicken Stock 



Chop the onions and throw them in the warm pot with some oil.   Add the chopped garlic.

Let them warm together for a while before adding the carrots and celery.





Add the meat on top

Chop the mint and rosemary.    I removed the stalks from the rosemary and chopped the leaves with the mint then sprinkled them over the meat which by now was already beginning to brown itself.

Add a generous glug of red wine  over the top then add enough stock to cover everything in the pan including the potatoes which you can add now or wait and add nearer serving time.

I made this first thing in the morning then about lunch time threw some spuds in.  This was also the first and only stir I gave the whole dish.  Add more water or stock if there is not to cover the potatoes.

There is a warm and welcoming aroma as you come back into the house in the evening after this has cooked all day.    On a  cold wet winter's evening this is so warming and cosy and the meat just melts off the bones.  I would normally just use a bunch of chops for this but the spare ribs worked really well together.

Enjoy and let me know what else you could add to the dish.  The other ingredient I would normally add but had run out of was anchovy fillets which I cut small so no one knows,  they just add a depth to the dish but nobody can taste fish.   

Tiggy

you can also see my other blog  Tiggy Hayes  to see what I get up to when I am not cooking.