Simon Rimmer’s vegan Lancashire hot-pot recipe

This vegan dish is tasty, hearty and cheap to make. For a quick and easy vegan or vegetarian meal - this is hotpot perfect.

Ingredients

Sauce

• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• splash of soy sauce
• 200ml (7fl oz) Madeira
• 200ml (7fl oz) vegetable stock
• 2 tbsp barley
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
• salt and freshly ground blackpepper

Vegetables

• 3 parsnips
• 3 carrots
• 5 celery sticks
• 200ml (7fl oz) vegetable stock
• 4–6 baking potatoes, peeled andfinely sliced
• 150ml (1⁄4 pint) olive oil

Method

1. Heat the vegetable oil and fry the onion and garlic until soft. Stir in the tomato purée and cook for a further 5 minutes. Add the soy sauce, Madeira and stock and bring to the boil, then add the barley. Reduce the heat, cover and cook for 25 minutes, or until the barley is soft.
2. Peel and chop the parsnips, carrots and celery sticks attractively, then cook them in the stock for about 10 minutes until just tender. Par-boil the potatoes in lightly salted boiling water.
3. Stir the thyme into the sauce and season to taste. Layer all of the vegetables, except for the potatoes, in six individual pie dishes and spoon over the sauce.
4. Toss the potatoes in olive oil and season well, then layer these on top of the vegetables. Place the dishes under a preheated hot grill until the potato topping looks golden and crispy.