Baked lamb with chickpeas and spinach

Author: Tracey Sunderland - Food writer & Stylist

Photographer: Carolyn Robertson

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Serves: 5

Time to make: 55 mins

Hands-on time: 15 mins

Ingredients

More weights & measures

500g lamb shoulder, boneless, finely diced (see tip)

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 red onions, cut in wedges

½ teaspoon ground cumin

½ cup dried chickpeagarbanzoXsgarbanzosX, soaked overnight and drained or 400g can chickpeagarbanzoXsgarbanzosX, drained, rinsed

2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes in juice

¼ cup lemon juice

2 thick pieces zest of lemon lemon (use peeler)

300g frozen chopped spinach, defrosted, excess water removed

1½ cups plain couscous

3 cups boiling water

Instructions

1 Preheat oven to 175°C. Heat a deep ovenproof pan over a medium heat. Gently cook lamb until browned on all sides. Add oil and onions. Cook, stirring, for 2 more minutes until soft. Add cumin, chickpeas, tomatoes, lemon juice, lemon zest and spinach. Stir to combine and bring to the boil. Cover and place pan in oven for 40 minutes.

2 Place couscous in a medium-sized bowl. Cover with boiling water and the remaining oil.
Stir then cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 5 minutes.

3 Fluff up couscous with fork and divide among four serving bowls. Ladle baked lamb over couscous and scatter with fresh chopped parsley if preferred.

Variations

Make it gluten free: Use brown rice instead of couscous and check cumin is gluten free.

HFG tip

Use a slow-cooking cut of lamb. Remove any visible fat and cut in equal size cubes. Lamb leg or lamb shoulder is ideal. Ask the butcher for the specific cut you would like. Lamb shanks would also be good in this recipe — allow 1 per person.
Half a cup dried chickpeas (100g) is equivalent to a 400g can drained chickpeas (240g). To prepare chickpeas, place in a bowl and cover with plenty of water. Leave overnight to soak. Cook chickpeas in plenty of salted water for 40-60 minutes on a low simmer OR add to a casserole as above.

Nutrition Info (per serve)

Calories 492cal

Kilojoules 2060kJ

Protein 35g

Total fat 16g

–Saturated fat 5g

Carbohydrates 50g

–Sugars 12g

Dietary fibre 8g

Sodium 160mg

Calcium 150mg

Iron 5mg

Note: This nutrition analysis is a guide only. Nutrition composition will vary depending on the exact ingredients used. See our guides on your optimal daily nutrition intake, and supermarket shopping.

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