SUPER STEWS

There’s nothing like a bowl of steaming stew to help you warm up on a cold winter evening

Slow-cooked lamb & chickpea stew

Cooking for five hours sounds long, but once it’s in the pot, you can leave this stew to simmer until you’re ready to enjoy meltingly tender lamb.

Serves 4

1 tbsp olive oil

1.2 kg-1.4 kg bone-in lamb shoulder, or 800g diced lamb shoulder

2 red onions, finely sliced

2 garlic cloves, finely sliced

2 tbsp harissa paste

125ml white wine

1 vegetable or chicken stock cube

1 small butternut squash (around 600g), halved, deseeded and cut into chunks

2 x 400g cans chickpeas

200g spinach, cavolo nero or spring greens

1 lemon, juiced

To serve

crumbled feta and chopped

flat-leaf parsley

1 Heat the olive oil in the base of a large, deep pan over a high heat. Season the lamb shoulder, then add to the pan, fat-side down. Fry for 3-5 mins, until a deep, golden brown. Remove from the pan with tongs and set aside on a plate. If you're using diced lamb, simply brown the chunks in the same way, then set aside on a plate.

2 Reduce the heat slightly and add the onions to the pan, along with a big pinch of salt. Fry for 5 mins, until the onions are beginning to soften. Add the garlic, fry for 2 mins more, then stir in the harissa paste. Pour in the wine and simmer for 5 mins, until it has reduced a little, then crumble in the stock cube and pour in 1 litre of water. Bring to the boil and whisk to make sure the stock cube has fully dissolved.