Lamb shanks with chickpeas & Moroccan spices

By bdjrempel

Ingredients

• 3/4 c 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
• 1 inch piece of cinnamon stick
• 2 c carrots , cut into thick slices (I use baby carrots quartered if thick)
• 2/3 c dried apricots halved
• 1 tbsp clear honey
• 1/3 c blanched almonds , fried in butter until browned
• chopped fresh cilantro

Details

Servings 4
Cooking time 240mins
Adapted from bbcgoodfood.com

Preparation

Step 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.

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.

Preheat the oven to 320F. Mix together the ginger, garlic, chillies, cumin, coriander, pepper and paprika. Add half of this to the onions, add the tomatoes and cook for 2-3 minutes. Put in the lamb and chickpeas, cover generously with water (about 3 1/2c), 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.)

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 cilantro on top.

Make it different

Canned chickpeas are cooked, so adjust the cooking time. Start at step 2 and omit the chickpeas in step 3, adding just 1 2/3 c water. Add a drained and rinsed 14 oz can of chickpeas at the beginning of step 4.