Winter Lamb Cobbler

• Meat

  • 200 g Bacon lardons or streaky bacon
  • 900 g Lamb neck
  • 350 ml Lamb stock

• Produce

  • 3 Bay leaves
  • 350 g Button mushrooms, small
  • 5 Carrots
  • 1/2 Lemon, Juice of
  • 350 g Shallots
  • 1 Small bunch Thyme
  • 1 Thyme

• Refrigerated

  • 1 Egg

• Condiments

  • 1 1/2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

• Baking & Spices

  • 1 tbsp Plain flour
  • 2 Salt and pepper
  • 350 g Self raising flour

• Oils & Vinegars

  • 1 tbsp Sunflower oil

• Dairy

  • 150 g Butter
  • 100 ml Milk

• Beer, Wine & Liquor

  • 350 ml Red wine

Found on emnzest.com

Description

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp sunflower oil (olive oil works fine if you dont have any)
• 200g bacon lardons or streaky bacon cut into small strips
• 900g lamb neck fillets cut into large chunks (lamb shoulder or leg work just as well for this though and are a little less pricey)
• 350g shallots, peeled and diced
• 350g small button mushrooms, wiped clean
• 5 carrots cut into large chunks
• 1 tbsp plain flour
• 3 bay leaves
• Small bunch of thyme
• 350ml red wine
• 350ml lamb stock (or chicken)
• 1½ tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• Salt and pepper
• 350g self raising flour
• Thyme, rosemary and parsley, chopped (enough for 4 tbsp)
• 150g chilled butter
• 100ml milk
• Juice of ½ a lemon
• Salt and pepper
• 1 egg, beaten to glaze

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 160°C / 320°F
• In a heavy based oven-proof casserole dish, heat the oil over a medium-high heat and then fry the bacon. Once it is golden and crisp, add the chunks of lamb to the dish and brown them on all sides (dont worry about what might look like a sticky mess on the bottom of your pan, this is caramelisation and will add bags of flavour to your cobbler)
• Remove the bacon and lamb from the dish and place it back over a medium heat with a splash of olive oil. Add the shallots, mushrooms and carrots and cook for about 5 minutes until starting to colour
• Stir in the flour, then return the meat to the dish along with the bay leaves, thyme, red wine, stock and Worcestershire sauce. Season with salt and pepper, then cover and transfer to the oven for about an hour and a half, of until the lamb is tender and the sauce has thickened slightly
• While the lamb is in the oven, make the topping by mixing the flour, chopped herbs, butter, salt and pepper in a food processor until it resembles breadcrumbs
• Tip the mixture into a bowl, make a well in the centre and pour in the milk and lemon juice (reserving a couple of tablespoons of milk). Use your hands to bring it all together to form a soft dough (if the dough is too hard, add the rest of the milk. If it feels sticky, add a small handful of flour)
• Tip the dough onto a floured surface and roll it out to about 1.5cm thick. Use a 7.5 cm / 3 in pastry cutter to cut the dough into rounds (collect up any trimmings, roll them out again and cut out more rounds until all of the dough has been used up)
• When you are ready to serve, heat the oven to 180°C / 355°F and arrange the scones around the edge of the dish (the sides should just be touching). Brush the scones with egg and place the dish in the oven for 30-40 minutes until the topping is golden brown
• If youre short on time, you dont absolutely have to brown the lamb at first, it still works really well if you skip this step (although of course it does always add that extra little kick of flavour)
• Get ahead: If you are making this the day before, cook the lamb for the first hour and a half, then remove from the oven, let it cool and store in the fridge overnight. You can even make the toppings ahead too and store them on a covered tray in the fridge overnight
• To freeze: You can freeze the casserole after the first hour and a half of cooking. The topping can be frozen before cooking, just wrap each scone in baking paper and foil. Defrost at room temperature before use