Persian-Spiced Lamb & Herb Stew

Ingredients

• 800 g diced lamb shoulder, cut into 4cm pieces
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 0.5 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp ground fenugreek
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 400 ml lamb stock, hot
• 1 x 400g tin kidney beans, drained
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 2 leeks, trimmed, sliced
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 2 large bunches flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
• 30g coriander, finely chopped
• basmati rice, to serve
• Warm pitta bread, to serve
• Chopped salad, to serve

Method

1. Pat the lamb dry with kitchen paper and season generously with salt and pepper — water on the surface means steam, and steam means no browning. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large heavy casserole over high heat until it shimmers.
2. Brown the lamb in two or three batches, 3–4 minutes per side, until each piece has a deep mahogany crust. Don't crowd the pan — all at once and the meat steams in its own juices instead of building those stuck brown bits on the base. Set the browned lamb aside.
3. Drop the heat to medium and add the remaining oil. Fry the onion for 6 minutes until softened and just catching gold at the edges, then add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, no more — fragrant only. Burnt garlic turns the whole stew bitter.
4. Stir in the turmeric, fenugreek and cinnamon and bloom them in the oil for 30–60 seconds until fragrant and warm-resinous. Raw ground spices taste dusty; bloomed, they taste of themselves.
5. Return the lamb and any resting juices to the casserole. Pour in the hot stock and the lemon juice, scraping up the brown fond from the base — that's where most of the flavour lives. Scatter in the lentils, bring to a gentle simmer, cover and cook on low for 45 minutes.
6. Stir in the leeks, re-cover, and cook for a further 30 minutes until the lamb gives easily under a spoon and the lentils have melted into the broth.
7. Tip in the kidney beans and cannellini beans and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes — the stew should thicken to a loose, spoon-coating consistency and the lamb should be completely tender.
8. Stir through the parsley, coriander and shredded spinach and cook for 5 minutes more, until the greens collapse and the stew turns a deep glossy emerald. Taste, season, taste again — adjust salt now, not at the table.
9. Spoon the stew over hot basmati rice, set a lemon wedge alongside each bowl, and squeeze it over at the table just before eating.