Kate Atkin
03 September 2018
Autumn in the Cotswolds is one of the most beautiful times of the year; trees are dressed in reds, yellows, oranges and golds, providing a breathtaking backdrop to invigorating walks through fallen leaves along the Cotswold Way. Country pubs have lit their roaring fireplaces and the sweet smell of hot chocolate drifts out of charming little tearooms.
As the cooler evenings start to draw in, there’s no better place to be than snuggled up with someone special in the warmth of one of our cosy chocolate-box cottages in the Cotswolds. After a day spent making memories, you’ll be in need of something delicious and hearty for supper and we’ve found the perfect Cotswolds recipe to cook in the comfort of your holiday home’s kitchen.
Created by Nigel Slater and Adam Henson, this Gloucestershire hotpot uses seasonal ingredients sourced locally from the Cotswolds, with discs of succulent apple and turnip as a wonderful alternative topping to potato. As a productive agricultural area, the Cotswolds is dotted with orchards and farms and there are a plethora of farm shops and weekly markets located within close proximity to our Cotswolds cottages including the renowned Daylesford Organic Farm in Kingham, Vegetable Matters in Ebrington and the Stroud farmers’ market. You certainly won’t be short of any fresh ingredients and with an abundance of locally made cakes lining the shelves, you’ll easily find something delectable for dessert!
Gloucestershire Hotpot
Preparation time: less than 30 minutes
Cooking time: over 2 hours
Serves: 4
Ingredients
- 1.5 litres/2½pints vegetable stock
- 500g/1lb 2oz pork bones
- 2 tbsp sea salt flakes
- 2 tbsp black peppercorns
- 1 tbsp juniper berries
- 100g/3½oz plain flour
- 1.5kg/3lb 5oz cubed pork
- 5 tbsp olive oil
- 4 medium onions, roughly chopped
- 2 large Bramley apples, sliced into 1cm/½in discs
- 2 turnips, sliced into 1cm/½in discs
- 60g/2¼oz butter
Method
- Preheat the oven to 160C/325F/Gas 3.
- Bring a large pan of stock to the boil, add the pork bones and allow to bubble for 45 minutes on a very low heat.
- Using a mortar and pestle, crush the salt, pepper and juniper berries together. Mix them with the flour in a large mixing bowl.
- Heat the olive oil in a large casserole and brown the pork in batches, transferring the meat each time to the bowl with the seasoned flour. Mix the meat well.
- Fry the onions in the same casserole until softened and translucent. Shake off any excess flour from the pork and return to the casserole. Fry for three minutes to cook the flour through.
- Ladle the stock (without the bones) over the casserole and stir well, ensuring that there are no lumps of flour.
- Take the sliced discs of apple and turnip and layer them over the casserole alternating between the two. Scatter little knobs of the butter over the top. Place the lid over the casserole or cover with foil. Bake for two hours, removing the lid or foil, for the last 30 minutes.
- Serve in deep bowls with crusty bread.
*Recipe courtesy of BBC Good Food
Where to stay?
Rose Cottage - Eastleach
Browse our collection of holiday cottages in the Cotswolds to find your perfect retreat to truly experience the beauty of a Cotswolds autumn. Many of our properties boast crackling wood burners for those chilly autumn evenings, as well as picturesque walks through the golden Cotswolds countryside from the doorstep.
Why not print off this recipe and take it away with you?
Disclaimer: Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information at the time of writing,
please ensure you check carefully before making any decisions based on the contents within this article.