Hot Pot

I saw a recipe for a vegetarian hot pot. I’ve never had a hot pot, not being English, but I liked the idea, so I made my own variation on the recipe. I don’t know if it’s like a hot pot, but it was good and warming.

Ingredients:

4-6 small potatoes or 2-3 medium ones

water

1 onion

1 clove garlic

oil

1 tsp honey

1 vegetable stock cube

1 tbsp tomato puree

2 carrots

2 stalks celery

½ cup liquid (I used a combination of coconut milk and water, but wine or ale or just water would work too)

2 tbsp herbs (I used dill and sage, but any would probably work well)

black pepper

Instructions:

1. Parboil the potatoes in the water for about 10 minutes.

2. Peel and dice the onion and garlic and lightly soften them in the oil and honey. Mash in the stock cube and stir in the tomato puree, then continue to caramelise for a few minutes.

3. Peel and chop the carrots and wash and chop the celery. Add them and the liquid to the pan. Cook for 5-10 minutes.

4. Add the herbs and season with black pepper.

5. Pour the vegetables and liquid into an oven-safe dish. Slice the potatoes and layer them on top. Drizzle with a little oil.

6. Bake at 180 C for 10-15 minutes.