This is something I threw together rather spontaneously the other night. We had some lamb shanks in the fridge and I wanted to try something a little different, aside from the usual roast with veggies, mint etc. This is a rich and meaty dish, that brings out the flavours of the lamb while giving it a nice, spicy kick! And it’s very easy to do, all in one pot on the hob!

Ingredients

2 lamb shanks

150g diced chorizo

2 onions, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 400g tin of chickpeas (drained)

2 400g tins of chopped tomatoes

10 chopped, dried apricots

1 tbsp ras el hanout

1 tbsp crushed chillies

100ml beef stock

2 tbsps plain white flour

salt and pepper

olive oil

Method

1. Coat the lamb shanks in the flour. Heat some olive oil in a deep casserole pan on a medium heat and add the lamb shanks for a few minutes until they’re nicely browned. Remove the lamb shanks and set aside.
2. Add a little more olive oil and cook the onions until soft, followed by the garlic, for a few minutes.
3. At this point, add everything else! Start with the chopped tomatoes, chickpeas and apricots and cook for a few minutes, before adding the stock, ras el hanout and crushed chillies. Add salt and pepper to taste.
4. Add the lamb shanks to the pan and coat with the sauce.
5. Put on the lid and turn the heat down to low, and leave to cook for two/two and a half hours. Keep an eye on it during this time, turning over the lamb shanks every half an hour.
6. I served ours with some cous cous and kale, which worked perfectly together.