Once you’ve made your basic lamb stew, you can take it in a different direction by adding a simple topping. I like making a kind of hot pot topping by layering up potatoes. They go lovely and crispy and delicious.

serves 6

Ingredients

• For your stew recipe see Lamb stew.
• • 600g medium potatoes
• • sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• • olive oil or a knob of butter
• • a few sprigs of fresh thyme

To make and cook your hot-pot topping

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• Preheat your oven to 190°C/375°F/gas 5
• Fill a large baking dish with the fully cooked stew
• Peel the potatoes and put them into a pan of boiling, salted water

To make and cook your hot-pot topping

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• Boil for 10 minutes
• Drain them in a colander and put to one side for 5 minutes to cool slightly
• Slice the potatoes lengthways into 1cm-thick slices and lay these over the top of your stew

To make and cook your hot-pot topping

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• Drizzle with a little olive oil or melt the butter and brush this over the potatoes
• Pick the thyme leaves off the stalks and sprinkle them over the potatoes with a pinch of salt and pepper
• Cook in the oven for 40 minutes