PanHaggerty; A Northumbrian Classic

This dish has many offspring across the British Isles and France, and shows up in cook books as Panaicity, Panacelty and many other variations. The Main ingredients are sliced Potatoes, Onions, and Cheese which are layered in a pan with butter or animal drippings and then baked until crispy brown. To this basic potato pie, there are often cooked meats from the day before, or canned corned beef, or vegetarian options, such as Rutabaga, Carrots, or Squash. In fact there are as many variations of this dish as there are spellings.The one we are going to concentrate on is the Northumbrian PanHaggerty, who's name derives from Pan (obvious) and the French Hache, to roughly chop.

I remember coming home from school to have this for the family supper, often served with fresh peas from the garden, together with a big slice of homemade bread and butter. You could smell it coming down the street as you stepped off the bus. When I make this now, the aroma transports me back to our small house next to the Park at Lynemouth, a small coal mining village along the Northeast Coast just below the Scottish Border. All of the houses in our row had long gardens, and were proudly tended to supply fresh vegetables and flowers. Many of the Miners were expert gardeners and competed at the local agricultural shows  to see who could grow the biggest Leeks, Onions, Cabbages, Carrots etc. The tricks/secrets to their success were closely guarded, and the occasional sabotage would emerge as rivals vied with each other in the beer tent at the show.

Ingredients;

6 Medium Potatoes (Scrubbed, peeled and sliced)

1 large Onion (sliced)

1lb Grated Cheese, either Cheddar, Cheshire, or any crumbly English variety

1 stickButter

Method:

Melt a small knob of butter in the pan you are going to use, (I like a good old fashioned cast iron frying pan) and sauté the onions until translucent. Remove and set to one side.

Start layering alternative slices of potato, onion and grated cheese  interspersed with nobs of butter until the pan is full. Season with Salt and Pepper and a couple of pinches of grated Nutmeg.

Start off by heating the pan on the stove top for a few minutes, top with Grated cheese and place in the oven at 200F (350C) or gas mark 6 and cover with lid or foil

Bake for 40-50 minutes, then remove the top to allow the cheese to brown

Serve in the Pan with any type of Salad or Vegetable, or just enjoy as is with Crusty Bread and Butter. Garnish with Parsley or a sprig of Thyme.