Corned beef Lancashire hotpot

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp butter, plus extra for greasing and dotting on top
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 onions, thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp flour
• 500ml beef stock
• 1 tbsp tomato purée or ketchup
• 1kg floury potatoes, peeled or unpeeled and thinly sliced
• 340g can of corned beef, thickly sliced
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp dried sage
• Sea salt and black pepper

Method

We’ve created hotpots in all their glory – a veggie version, a sausage hotpot and now let’s welcome the corned beef Lancashire hotpot to the family. Crispy potatoes on the top, soft juicy slices at the bottom and beautiful corned beef in the middle – heaven from a can!

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/Fan 160°C/Gas 4. Generously butter a large, deep casserole dish.
2. For the gravy, heat the butter and oil in a large frying pan. Add the onions and fry until they are just starting to soften without taking on any colour. Stir in the flour until a paste forms around the onions, then add the stock and tomato purée or ketchup. Simmer for a few minutes, stirring regularly, until the gravy has thickened slightly.
3. Arrange a third of the potato slices over the base of the buttered casserole dish and season. Layer on half the corned beef, then sprinkle some of the herbs on top. Season with a little more salt and pepper and pour in half the gravy. Add another third of potatoes, remembering to season as you go, followed by the rest of the corned beef, herbs and gravy. Top with the remaining potatoes and press down lightly. Dot with butter.
4. Put the lid on the casserole dish and bake in the preheated oven for an hour. Remove the lid and cook for another 30 minutes until the top layer of potatoes has crisped up around the edges and is golden brown. Some green vegetables on the side would be nice.