Lamb shanks with chickpeas & Moroccan spices

• dried chickpeas↗175g g
• olive oil↗2 tbsp tbsp
• lamb↗4

  shanks (medium)

• medium onions↗2

  chopped

• finely chooped fresh root ginger2 tsp tsp
• garlic cloves↗3

  finely chopped

• fresh green chillies↗2

  seeded and finely chopped

• ground cumin↗2 tsp tsp
• ground coriander↗2 tsp tsp
• freshly ground black pepper1 tsp tsp
• paprika↗1 tsp tsp
• tomatoes↗2 large

  peeled, seeded and chopped

• saffron↗pinch of

  strands

• cinnamon stick↗2cm/0.25in piece of cm

  piece of

• carrots↗450g g

  cut into thick slices

• ready-to-eat dried apricots↗140g
• clear honey↗1 tsp
• blanched almonds↗50g

  fried in butter until browned

• chopped fresh coriander

Step-by-step instructions

1. 1

   Soak the chickpeas overnight. Drain, tip into a saucepan and cover generously with fresh cold water. Bring to the boil, simmer for 45 minutes and drain.

2. 2

   Heat the oil in a large casserole and brown the lamb all over. Remove and set aside. Pour off most of the fat, leaving 1 tablespoon in the dish, add the onions and fry for 8-10 minutes until soft.

3. 3

   Preheat the oven to 160C/Gas 3/fan oven 140C. Mix together the ginger, garlic, chillies, cumin, coriander, pepper and paprika. Add half of this to the onions, tip in the tomatoes and cook for 2-3 minutes. Put in the lamb and chickpeas, cover generously with water (about 850ml/11⁄2 pints), bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Cover and cook in the oven for 11⁄2-2 hours until the chickpeas are really tender. (You can prepare up to this stage the day before. Cool, cover and refrigerate. Bring back to simmering point before starting step 4.)

4. 4

   Remove from the oven and stir in the remaining spice mixture, the saffron and cinnamon, carrots, apricots, honey and salt. Cover and return to the oven for 45 minutes-1 hour until the lamb is tender and the vegetables cooked. Scatter the almonds and coriander on top.