The Salt Box Persian-Inspired Lamb Stew

This sweet, meltingly-tender Persian-inspired lamb stew is really easy and makes for a delicious, warming meal for family and friends. Lamb neck fillet is economical and extremely tasty, and the pomegranate seeds and herbs give this dish a really fresh twist. There’s a great range of lamb neck fillet recipes on the Great British Chef website.

Ingredients (Serves 4)

• 750g lamb neck fillet
• vegetable oil
• 2 medium white onions, sliced
• 75g dates, pitted and roughly chopped
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 4 green cardamon pods, crushed
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• 1-2 tbsp concentrated tomato puree
• 500ml chicken stock
• 250g couscous
• 1 tin of chickpeas, drained
• zest of 1 lemon
• seeds from 1 fresh pomegranate
• mint leaves, roughly chopped
• coriander leaves, roughly chopped
• mixed greens (whichever you prefer)

Method

1. In a large casserole dish, start making the lamb stew by browning the lamb all over in a little oil.
2. Add the onions and cook gently until the onions start to go golden.
3. Add all the spices (cinnamon, cumin, cardamon, sweet paprika) and cook for 1-2 minutes.
4. Add the chicken stock, chopped dates and tomato puree and mix well.
5. Pop the lid on the dish and leave to simmer gently for 1-1.5 hours, or until the meat is nice and tender.
6. 10 minutes before serving, cook the couscous, then mix in the chickpeas, lemon zest and most of the chopped mint/coriander, leaving a little fresh herbs to garnish.
7. Steam the greens.
8. Serve the stew with the couscous and greens, topped with fresh pomegranate seeds and the mint/coriander leaves.

Christian, founder of The Salt Box, met the team at The Dorking Butchery whilst working on innovative and exciting cured and smoked products to showcase the best of local Surrey produce. A chef by trade, he has always had a strong passion for cooking and loves all things cured, smoked and pickled. When he’s not in the kitchen or catering at local events, Christian works part-time at The Dorking Butchery. His famous scotch eggs, pickles and chutneys can also be found on sale at the shop!