Mary McCartney's Vegetarian or Vegan Hot Pot

 I've been absolutely loving celebrities living out their cookery show dreams on Instagram during lockdown these past couple of months, so many of them 'hosting' their own cooking segments like they're the new Jamie Oliver. And it's also really helpful to get some new recipe ideas as the never-ending cycle of cooking and eating in quarantine is getting a tad tedious. I've tried Florence Pugh's roasted butternut squash and garlic soup, which was delicious, and I couldn't wait to to give Mary McCartney's vegetarian (or vegan) hotpot a go. The photographer and daughter of Beatles legend Paul recently put up an IGTV of her making this dish from her kitchen, which I recommend watching even if you have no interest in the meal, her voice is super relaxing. Please do some ASMR vids, Mary.This is a really nice, warming dish that's good for using up spare veg. I served it with vegetarian yorkshire puddings, making it feel a bit roast dinner-ish. To serve four people you need:

• A large potato, thinly sliced
• A large carrot (or two small), sliced in circles
• A medium onion, sliced in circles
• Some green veg - Mary used tenderstem broccoli and green beans, so I did too.
• Vegetable stock or gravy
• One tin of chick peas, drained
• Optional - vegetarian or vegan sausages/burger that have already been grilled
• Olive oil
• Seasoning

  In a casserole dish arrange a layer of potato slices across the bottom and round the sides. Then add a layer of onion slices, a layer of carrot slices, and then a layer of drained chick peas. Mary added a layer of grilled Linda McCartney sausages (sneaky family plug) at this stage, but I didn't have any. Wash your green veg and chop it small enough to layer across the top, then add some of your stock. You can just use a stock cube with hot water, but I used a pre-made vegetarian gravy (white wine and herb flavour) from the supermarket mixed with about 300ml of water, some garlic granules and salt and pepper. Finally, layer the last of your potatoes across the top to make a lid, add the remaining stock or gravy, and then a big glug of olive oil over the whole thing.  Put a lid on the casserole dish, or tin foil if you have no lid. Then put in the oven at 180 degrees for an hour and a half. Take the lid off and put the dish back in the oven for a final fifteen minutes to brown the potatoes on top.This is so delicious, but I wonder if the thick, tasty gravy made it? Would it be as special with a stock cube? Hmm, only some experimentation will tell. I'd also like to try it with the veggie sausages, though Quorn ones are my fave - sorry, Mary! This is the perfect dish to chuck stuff in and forget about for a while, and then scoff down. And that's what quarantine cooking is all about.