Name: Lamb shanks with chickpeas & Moroccan spices
Prep time: 90 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Moroccan
Ingredients: 175g dried chickpeas; 2 tbsp olive oil; 4 lamb shanks (medium); 2 medium onions chopped; 2 tsp finely chooped fresh root ginger; 3 garlic cloves finely chopped; 2 fresh green chillies seeded and finely chopped; 2 tsp ground cumin; 2 tsp ground coriander; 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper; 1 tsp paprika; 2 large tomatoes peeled, seeded and chopped; pinch of saffron strands; 2cm/0.25in piece of cinnamon stick; 450g carrots cut into thick slices; 140g ready-to-eat dried apricots; 1 tsp clear honey; 50g blanched almonds fried in butter until browned; chopped fresh coriander

Ingredients

175g dried chickpeas

2 tbsp olive oil

4 lamb shanks (medium)

2 medium onions chopped

2 tsp finely chooped fresh root ginger

3 garlic cloves finely chopped

2 fresh green chillies seeded and finely chopped

2 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp paprika

2 large tomatoes peeled, seeded and chopped

pinch of saffron strands

2cm/0.25in piece of cinnamon stick

450g carrots cut into thick slices

140g ready-to-eat dried apricots

1 tsp clear honey

50g blanched almonds fried in butter until browned

chopped fresh coriander

Instructions

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 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 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 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.