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Cheat's stew of lamb chops with chickpeas, cumin, celery and coriander

Alex Mackay from Great Food Live
Forget the dull stews of childhood - Alex Mackay's rustic supper dish sings with Mediterranean herbs, dried fruits and chilli heat

Cheat's stew of lamb chops with chickpeas, cumin, celery and coriander

Method

1. Place the shallots and celery hearts in a large saucepan. Cover with water, bring to a boil and boil for 7 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool.

2. Heat the vegetable oil in a large, heavy based casserole or sauté pan. Season the lamb chops with salt and cayenne pepper and fry over a high heat for 4 minutes on each side until well browned. Remove from the pan and set aside.

3. Add the cumin seeds to the pan and toast for about 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add the boiled shallots plus the garlic and chilli and fry for 2-3 minutes until lightly browned.

4. Put the lamb chops and the boiled celery on top. Pour over the lamb stock and, if necessary, a little water to cover. Bring to the boil. Add the dried apricots and the raisins. Cover the surface of the stew with a circle of greaseproof paper and leave to simmer for 30 minutes.

5. Add the chickpeas and continue simmering for 10 minutes or until the lamb is tender. Transfer the lamb and celery to a warm serving dish.

6. Add the extra virgin olive oil to the pan and boil for 1 minute. Stir in the coriander and season with salt and cayenne pepper. Spoon the chickpea stew over the top of the lamb and celery. Sprinkle with the lemon juice and zest and serve.

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Serves: 4

Prep: 20 min
Cook: 1 hr 15 min

Ingredients
8 small Shallots
2 Celery Hearts
2 tbsp vegetable oil
salt and pepper
4 lamb shoulder chops, about 200g each
1 tbsp Cumin seeds
6 garlic cloves, peeled
1 large red chilli, seeds removed and finely chopped
500ml lamb stock
12 Dried apricots
100g large raisins
200g canned or cooked Chickpeas
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 small bunch Coriander, leaves picked and roughly chopped
cayenne pepper
1 unwaxed lemon, grated zest and juice