SWEET POTATO LAMB

Serves 4 Preparation 20 minutes Cooking 1 hour 35 minutes This recipe contains less meat than usual but, by using good-quality ingredients, as well as taking your time at each cooking stage, you will give the dish real depth of flavour and no one will notice the difference.

250g organic or free-range lamb mince 1 large onion, chopped 1 large carrot, diced 2 sticks celery, including leaves, diced olive oil large sprig of thyme 2 garlic cloves, crushed 4 anchovies, finely chopped (or 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce) 1 tbsp sun-dried tomato purée 125g red lentils 230g tin plum tomatoes 400ml hot lamb stock about 250g sweet potatoes, scrubbed and left unpeeled

1 Put a non-stick sauté pan over a low heat. Add the mince and leave it to heat gently to release its fat. After a few minutes, turn up the heat and fry, breaking up the mince with a wooden spoon, until golden. Take your time with this as it will add flavour. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. 2 Put the onion, carrot and celery into the same pan (there should be enough fat from the lamb, or add a splash of olive oil) and gently fry with the thyme and a large pinch of salt for about 20 minutes until softened. Again, be patient as more cooking adds depth. 3 Add the garlic, anchovies and tomato purée and cook for a couple of minutes. Tip in the lentils. 4 Stir in the tomatoes and break up with a wooden spoon. Bubble for a couple of minutes, then blend in the stock. Add the Worcestershire sauce if not using the anchovies. Return the lamb to the pan, cover and simmer very gently for 30 minutes. Check the seasoning. 5 Heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan oven) gas mark 6. Tip the lamb into an ovenproof dish. Thinly slice the sweet potatoes using a mandolin or sharp knife. Spread in one overlapping layer on top of the lamb. Brush with oil and season. Bake for 30-35 minutes until the sweet potatoes are tender – check after 25 minutes as they sometimes soften sooner.