Individual Vegetarian Lancashire Hotpots

This is vegetarian comfort food, pure and simple. A Simon Rimmer recipe.

• Ready In: 1 hr 30 mins
• Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 1  tablespoon olive oil
• 1  large onion, sliced
• 200  g tomato puree
• 1⁄8 cup madeira wine
• 2  tablespoons pearl barley
• 1  dash Tabasco sauce
• 3  liters  fresh  vegetable stock, hot (I use a cube)
• 24  baby onions, unskinned
• 2  carrots, sliced
• 2  parsnips, cored and cut into batons
• 3  celery ribs, roughly chopped
• 2  baking potatoes, very finely sliced
• 25  g butter, melted, for brushing

Directions

1. Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Cook onion 5 minutes, stirring. Add tomato puree and cook 8 minutes more, still stirring.
2. Stir in Madeira and boil for a frew minutes. Add barley, Tabasco, and 1 litre stock. Bring to boil and simmer 20 minutes to reduce by one-third.
3. Bring remaining stock to boil in a large saucepan and add the baby onions. Cook 5 minutes, drain, and cool in cold water. Peel the skins off the onions. Blanch the other vegetables (potatoes seperately) for 3 minutes. Lift into a colander to drain well. Season and set aside.
4. Prehat grill to medium high. Put veg (exept potatoes in 6 X 300ml serving dishes. Spoon in the sauce and top with overlapping potato slices. Brush with butter and grill on a baking sheet for 8-10 minutes until golden and potatoes just start to crisp up.