- 1 large carrot, cut into 3 pieces
- 1 onion, cut into quarters
- 2 cloves garlic
- sprig rosemary
- sprig thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- pinch rock salt
- 1 tbsp tomato purée
- 2 litres/3½ pints water
- 1 middle neck of lamb with bones, about 1kg/2¼lb
- plain flour, for dusting
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 Spanish onion, thinly sliced
- 2 carrots, thinly sliced
- 1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp thyme leaves
- 1 tbsp chopped rosemary
- 3 Maris Piper potatoes, very thinly sliced
- unsalted butter
- 1 small red cabbage, cored and sliced
- 1 red onion, finely chopped
- 150g/5½oz unsalted butter
- 200ml/7fl oz red wine vinegar
- 50g/2oz clear honey
- 100g/3½oz demerara sugar
- 1 bay leaf
- sprig thyme
- salt
- Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
- First make the stock. Remove the meat from the middle neck of lamb and set aside. Chop the bones and put them in a roasting tray. Roast until lightly browned.
- Meanwhile, cook the carrot, onion and garlic in a little olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed stockpot until lightly browned. Add the herbs and salt, then stir in the tomato purée and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the roasted bones and cover with the water. Bring to the boil, then turn down to a simmer and cook for one hour, skimming off any fat or scum regularly. Pass the liquid through a fine sieve into a clean pan. Return to the heat and reduce until you have 1 litre/1¾ pints of stock.
- Turn the oven down to 150C/300F/Gas 2.
- To make the hot pot, cut the lamb into 2cm/1in thick slices. Dust them with flour. Heat the oil in a pan and quickly fry until lightly coloured on both sides. Remove and set aside.
- In the same oil, quickly fry the onion, carrots and garlic until lightly browned.
- Layer the lamb, onion and carrots in a heavy casserole dish, filling it to 1cm/½in from the top. Season each layer with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and the herbs, spooning liberal amounts of stock between each layer.
- Arrange the potatoes neatly all over the top of the dish. Dot a few small knobs of butter on the potatoes, cover with a tight-fitting lid and cook in the oven for 1½ hours. Remove the lid and cook for a further 45 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the red cabbage. Mix together all of the ingredients. Put into a roasting tray and cover with foil. Place in the oven and cook for about 1½ hours, stirring regularly, until most of the liquid has evaporated.
- Serve the hot pot from the casserole onto warm plates with the cabbage.