Vegan Lancashire Hotpot (and other warming stews)
A vegan Lancashire hotpot feels like the sort of dinner that anyone would love (even if you’re from Yorkshire!) It’s made with affordable filling and nutritious ingredients, and fills the kitchen with lovely aromas, before it lands on the table, to eat with veggies and good bread.
This vegan Lancashire hotpot (The Veg Space) is made with tinned lentils, mushrooms, Maris Piper spuds and ready-made vegan sausages.
Although the classic version was made from lamb (with onion and potatoes), England is now a country of 67 million people, so there are millions of vegans (and not enough free-range organic meat for those who eat it). So learn how to make a plant-based version (no cholesterol) and you’ll never go back!
Before cooking, read up on food safety for people and pets (many foods including onion family, mushrooms and salt are unsafe near animal friends). Bin allium scraps (onion, lee, garlic, shallot, chives) and tomato/citrus/rhubarb scraps as acids could harm compost creatures (food waste bins are fine, as food is made into biogas).
For tinned foods, fully remove lids (or pop ring-pulls back over holes) before recycling, to stop wildlife getting trapped.
The history of Lancashire hotpot
Lancashire hotpot (like most of our traditional meals) came from a time, when money was scarce, so a meal that was cooked with cheap ingredients and leftovers, was needed for people who mostly still worked manually, so needed a ‘proper meal’.
Potatoes on top weren’t just for show. They slowed down evaporation, kept the heat in, and turned crisp at the edges after a long bake. This humble and filling pie is still easy and cheap to make, and easy to portion.
Betty’s Hotpot (in real life she was vegetarian!)
What a stunner!
Everyone remembers ‘Betty’s hotpot’ from TV serial Coronation Street. But in real life, actress Betty Driver was not just a vegetarian, but by her own admission, a terrible cook! Still her healthy lifestyle led her to live to 91.
More warming vegan stews and casseroles
- Carrot potato mushroom stew (Broke Bank Vegan)
- Pea, Potato & Carrot Stew
- Vegan dumplings (keep fresh dough away from pets)
Vegan Irish Stew (with artisan stout)
This Mushroom Irish Stew (The Simple Veganista) uses mushrooms to replicate meat in this famous Irish dish. Packed with filling potatoes, veggies and herbs, this is a simple ‘pour everything in a pot and cook it’ recipe, with optional vegan Worcestershire sauce (no fish) to bring the flavours out.
Read our post on food safety for people and pets. Just bin allium scraps (onion, garlic, leeks, shallots, chives) and tomato/citrus/rhubarb scraps, as acids could harm compost creatures (they are okay to go in food waste bins, as this is made into biogas).
For tinned foods, rinse then remove lids (pop in cans) or pop ring-pulls back over holes. Pinch or flatten cans, to stop wildlife getting trapped.
Choose Artisan Vegan Stouts
This recipe uses Guinness (which is now vegan-friendly) but if you wish, you could use an artisan English stout like Shoreham Stout (brewed in Brighton) or Stroud Brewery. Alcohol-free vegan stouts include Check This Stout or Sober Brummie.
Guinness is not even Irish! The company is now owned by a big multi-national. But was founded by a man who was anti-Catholic (though to be fair, he did use profits to build peace). But when Ireland became independent, he would not let the new government use the harp logo, as he’d already taken it!
So the government simply turned the harp to face the other way. If you look closely, you’ll notice that the harp on the Irish government logos does indeed face the opposite direction, to the Guinness one!
We suggest enjoying this, whilst listening to Putumayo’s wonderful album Celtic Women!
