A simplified Lancashire hotpot from Elisabeth Ayrton.

The recipe appears in her quirky Time is of the Essence which in turn appeared in 1961, when, however, labor saving devices had yet to appear in the British kitchen. Time savings therefore result from planning, technique and the simplification of traditional preparations. This hotpot therefore resembles nothing so much as Dublin coddle made with lamb instead of sausage. Her version is hardly complicated by the addition of an herb and some cupboard condiments. Four hearty servings

• 8 shoulder lamb chops, preferably arm rather than blade if possible
• salt and pepper
• generous Tablespoon minced fresh (never dried) rosemary
• 3 big sweet onions (like Vidalia), sliced into thin crescents
• 3 russet potatoes, peeled and sliced
• Worcestershire or mushroom ketchup
• stock if you have it, a lamb cube and water if you do not, water alone if you have no cube
• unsalted butter for greasing
• minced parsley
• minced scallion greens

Preheat the oven to 250°.

1. Drop half the chops into a deep, lidded oven pot of appropriate dimensions; they should lie in snug but not overlapping formation, then give them a generous dose of salt and a little pepper.
2. Cover the chops with half the onion followed by half the potato.
3. Repeat Steps 1 and 2.
4. Pour on the Worcestershire to taste, then fill the pot with stock or water until the top potatoes are barely awash.
5. Cover the pot with buttered parchment or silicone paper, put on the lid and bake the hotpot for about three hours, or until the meat is parting with its bone. It could take longer.
6. Just before service shove the parsley and scallion down among the chops.

Notes:

-It subverts the philosophy of Time but the addition of two or three thinly sliced lamb kidneys to the pot atop each layer of chop would be wonderful, and true enough to an Old School hotpot.

-Do resist the temptation to add anything else to the recipe. The slow cooking of the dish both amalgamates and intensifies the flavor of the ingredients in an alchemical transformation, again in common with coddle.

-The recipe from Time includes nothing at all but the mutton, its onions and potato seasoned with salt and pepper. Rosemary and Worcestershire were created to pair together with lamb but there is something to be said for the extreme simplicity of the original. Fergus Henderson would approve but would be unlikely to resist the temptation of the parsley--but only if curly, never flat.

-A bottle of the brown sauce despised by the Food Police should be mandatory for hot pot.

-The original recipe specifies “lean mutton from the leg” but mutton, whether lean or fat, has all but disappeared from the planet. Most unfortunate. Leg remains a more than viable option when using lamb but the cheaper shoulder cut on the bone casts the stronger spell.