My Scouse

My husband's family come from Liverpool and this recipe is an amalgamation of the Scouse recipes belonging to his Nana, his mum, and his dad. Since I've been using the slow cooker, it has achieved the ultimate accolade; it's as good as Nana's. It is traditionally made with the 'scrag end' but I tend to go for lean stir-fry lamb instead. It is important to use King Edwards if you can find them because they fall and go all mushy during the cooking process.

• Ready In: 1 hr 10 mins
• Serves: 2

Ingredients

•  low-fat cooking spray
• 1⁄2 lb lamb, cut very small
• 4  large  king edward potatoes, sliced
• 3  carrots, sliced
• 1  small turnip, diced
•  salt and pepper
• 1⁄3 pint lamb stock

Directions

1. Pre-heat the oven to 150.
2. Heat up some low-fat cooking spray on the hob and stir-fry the lamb until it is browned on both sides. Transfer to a lidded casserole dish.
3. Use this juice from the lamb to stir-fry the carrots and turnip until just starting to soften. Add to the casserole dish.
4. Pour in the stock. Cover and cook in the oven for an hour.
5. Towards the end of the cooking time, par-boil the potatoes for about 5 - 10 minutes. Add to the casserole dish with salt and a generous amount of pepper and cook at 150 for a further 30 minutes.
6. Remove from the oven and stir. The potatoes should have gone all mushy and sludge-like.
7. At this point, if you're impatient, you could eat the scouse as it is.
8. But it's much better if you transfer it from the casserole into a slow cooker and leave it on medium for about 4 - 6 hours. The flavour will intensify and the lamb will be coming apart,.
9. Serve with crusty bread.