From the
Manx Gaelic. Pronounced
lock-tan.
"Loghtan" or "Loaghtan" is the
Manx word for the "moorit" colour of the
fleece. It may be derived from the two
Manx words Lugh (
mouse) and Dhoan (
brown) or from Lhost dhoan (
burnt brown).
A breed of sheep native to the Isle of Man. They have coarse, dark brown fleece and four horns - two curl down like rams' horns, and two are fairly straight. They are rare even on Mann, with only a few dozen still in existance. However, the breed shows every sign of becoming popular as a "park sheep" for those who want attractive sheep producing fleeces for spinning and meat with an excellent flavour
Their wool is used to make clothing, notably at the woolen mills in Laxey. It its difficult to dye and almost impossible to bleach, but clothing made from loaghtan wool is both warm and lightweight.
Recipe
Place a cupfull of virgin olive oil in a large baking tray.
Add a large chopped onion, 2 crushed cloves of garlic, a tin of peeled tomatoes, 3 tablespoons of tomato puree, 1 tablespoon of soya sauce, 2 bay leaves, add salt and pepper to taste and finally add 2 cupfulls of water and stir.
Place the leg or shoulder of Manx Loaghtan on top and cover with tinfoil.
Pre-heat the oven to 165 C and cook at 30 minutes per lb of meat.
Stir the sauve occasionally and serve with pasta, rice or potatoes.
(Boiled with a drizzle of olive oil and pepper is delicious).
Source: The Manx Loaghtan Story by Peter Wade-Martins (1990) ISBN 0-9513042-7-5