A Lamb Casserole, Jan 9

Take some neck of lamb - on the bone if you can get but if not, fillet will do. If you can't get neck, ask your butcher for another slow cooker, they usually have chunks of leg that will work just as well.

Roll the lamb in some seasoned flour and fry in olice oil, in a casserole dish, until browned. Remove and set aside.

Chop some onion (roughly one small onion per portion of lamb) and add to the pot. Next, garlic cloves, crushed with the flat of a knife. You can add just a couple or loads, depending on your preference.

Fry until softened. Meanwhile peel some parsnips and chop into very chunky pieces. I went for a large parnsip per portion of lamb and you wouldn't want any less - it's the sweetness of the neep that makes the sauces so beautifully tasty.

 If you like, peel and chop a couple of potatoes and throw them in too (waxy ones hold their shape better, but a maris piper will add something extra to the flavour of the sauce.)

Put the lamb and any juice that's come out while it's been resting back in the pot. Cover with hot water and throw in some sprigs of rosemary. I didn't bother with salt and pepper because the lamb was already seasoned.

Put in a medium oven (I used gas mark 5) and leave for at least 90 minutes.

The parsnips should be meltingly soft and will have given the sauce a sweet velvety quality that will make you want to eat it all at once. Yum

Recipe inspired by Nigel Slater's Simple Suppers BBC TV show.