Rich lamb and chickpea tagine

2 HOURS 30 MINUTES | SERVES 6 EASY

olive oil 1 tbsp lamb neck 750g, cut into chunks and seasoned carrots 4, peeled and cut into chunks red onion 1, cut into wedges chicken stock 400ml, plus extra for the couscous cherry tomatoes 400g tin cinnamon 1 stick medjool dates 8, pitted and halved chickpeas 660g jar, drained and rinsed couscous 200g butter 50g, diced coriander a large bunch, leaves picked and stems reserved

SPICE PASTE red onion 1 small, roughly chopped garlic 3 cloves, roughly chopped ginger a walnut-sized piece, roughly chopped ground cumin 2 tsp paprika 2 tsp cloves 4, ground allspice 4 berries, ground mild chilli powder 2 tsp lemon 1, zested and juiced olive oil 2 tbsp

• Heat the oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Put all the spice paste ingredients and coriander stems in a small food processor, and whizz to a paste.

• Heat the olive oil in a casserole dish. Brown the lamb in batches, making sure you get a good colour all over. Scoop out with a slotted spoon, leaving any fat in the pan. Add the spice paste and cook for a few minutes until fragrant. Add the carrots, onion, stock, tomatoes and cinnamon, and stir. Mix the lamb back in, put on a lid then cook in the oven for 1 hour 15 minutes.

• Stir in the dates and chickpeas, and cook for 40 minutes. To make the couscous, put in a heatproof dish, season, then add the butter. Pour over enough just-boiled stock to cover, then put a lid on the dish and leave to steam. Stir the coriander leaves through both the tagine and couscous, then serve. PER SERVING 713 KCALS | FAT 38.2G SATURATES 16G | CARBS 51G | SUGARS 14.7G FIBRE 10G | PROTEIN 36.4G | SALT 0.9G