Hotpot | Casa Mascia Apothecary

Today, it has been raining all day non-stop. It is a cool 28 C (or 82 F) so I am still continuing along the theme of hotpots. If you haven’t read the last post, Gnome had asked me to cook a Lancashire Hotpot for him. Those people who are not familiar with this dish, it is a meal made with lamb (sometimes beef), onions and carrots with a layer of sliced potatoes on top. This traditional stew is cooked slowly in the oven at a low heat to make the meat and vegetables tender and succulent.

Well, anyway, the running joke is that I keep on intending to cook a Lancashire Hotpot but instead of using the traditional ingredients, I substitute alternatives so that the resulting dish isn’t really Lancashire.

So, the Pork and Cassava Hotpot was another attempt at being Lancashire…honestly!! This time, there are carrots included and I had to use pork because I could not find beef or lamb! Also, I can’t bring myself to buy potatoes when I have a huge plethora of exotic roots on the farm. The cassava does make a lovely hotpot; it is warming and comforting and is great for these cooler spells in Belize.

I have to admit though, that I am a bit of a rebel cook at heart and I love to tweek and change recipes. Only once in my life, I actually made a serious whole-hearted attempt to follow a recipe to the letter. This was for Duck a l’orange and it took three days to prepare…it was excellent! It was solely tempted to change it to Duck a le pampelmousse but made a deliberate effort to follow instructions!

Have a good day everyone…may we all revel in being rebel cooks!

This is an actual conversation which took place between Munchkin and Gnome which typically exemplifies the many talks that they have together.

Gnome: I fancy a nice Lancashire Hotpot!

Munchkin: Okay, Darling, I will make it for you.

Gnome: Ooooh, is it going to have lamb in it?

Munchkin: No.

Gnome: Ooooh, are there going to be carrots and potatoes, then?

Munchkin: No.

Gnome: What are you putting in it, my dear?

Munchkin: Pork.

Gnome: In what way is that a Lancashire Hotpot?

Munchkin: It’s slow-cooked in the oven like a Lancashire Hotpot. Mmmm…maybe it isn’t a Lancacshire Hotpot…it’s more like a Shepherd’s Pie.

Gnome: Ooooh, so its going to have mashed potatoes?

Munchkin: No. Mashed taro.

Gnome: In what way is that a Shepherd’s Pie, my dear?

Munchkin: Mmmm…maybe it isn’t a Shepherd’s Pie. I have a great idea…let’s call it Belizean Shepherd’s Hotpot!

Gnome: But Dearest, I asked for a Lancashire Hotpot!

And so this recipe was borne from this loving banter. It is slow cooked like a hotpot in the oven and it has mashed taro (like mashed potatoes) so you could say that it was a very distant cousin, thrice removed, from the Lancashire Hotpot and Shepherd’s Pie. Or, you could argue that there is absolutely no relation to these dishes at all! Nonetheless, it makes a hearty, tasty meal and Gnome did indeed enjoy it, even although it wasn’t what he had asked for!