Lancashire Hotpot - Solar Variation

Lancashire Hotpot Perfect Winter Meal

Today's top 9 recipe choices at FoodBuzz.com, one of my favorite sites for creative recipes, included Lancashire Hotpot by gourmet traveller with lamb, onions and potatoes. We had been having some very cold weather and overcast skies, but the sun was shining bright and I could have everything prepped and in the solar oven by 1:00PM.

Missing Main Ingredient Requires Solar Variation of Hotpot
No lamb in my freezer and this was one day I wasn't leaving the house. Time to perform the old variation-on-a-theme magic. Decided it was just fine to use some fresh boneless pork chops, onions, and potatoes.
I used the same preparation steps of the recipe but added some of my own ingredients and seasonings.

Removed the fat from around the chops and diced them into 1-inch cubes, then dropped the pork cubes into a zippered plastic bag to thoroughly coat them with the salt and sugar mixture, before the final coating with my seasoned flour (I decided to add some ground fennel, sumac, cardamom, and parsley to the flour to offset the apples) and layering them on the bottom of the casserole dish.  While the onions were softening up in butter over medium heat, I decided to thinly slice two medium apples and layer them over the pork. Finished thinly slicing the potatoes while the wine was totally absorbed by the onions. When the onions were done, I layered them over the apple slices and pork.

With limited sunshine time, I decided to help the dish along a little more. Placed the sliced and buttered potatoes in the microwave for two and a half minutes to bring them up to the temperature of the onions and pinwheeled them over the onions.  Since gourmet traveller's recipe required a heavy cover, I decided to use tin foil before the final cover to keep the contents tight. The oven had already preheated to 225F, which was great for a winter's day. Missed my deadline, but by 1:25 PM, dinner was in the solar oven.

Solar Cooked Willow Spring Hotpot Variation Successful
I just love it when things come together! By changing the protein and adding a touch of this and a bit of that, a whole new recipe was born. The flavors blended well and it was all cooked by 4:00 PM. For now, will call it the Willow Spring Hotpot. I mean, if the other could be called after a city/town/berg, why not this variation?