This recipe will put a smile on the face of the whole family, particularly the children as whilst lightly spiced, it also has sweetness to the dish. It freezes really easily as well, so make up a big batch so that you have plenty in the freezer for those last-minute meals. A perfect dish for our food pots for lunch or for supper. Whilst this recipe is for 2 people, it is easily scaled up to more portions.
Serves: 1 x 500ml and 1 x 700ml food pots
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: Approximately 2 hours
Ingredients:
- 2tbsp olive oil
- 1 small brown onion, diced
- 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
- 1 small sweet potato, medium dice
- 1 small butternut squash, about 50g is all you need
- 6 soft-dried apricots, cut into pieces
- ½tsp cinnamon
- 1tsp dried cumin
- Large sprinkle of dried ginger (about ¼ tsp, more if you like the flavour)
300g diced lamb leg - Pinch of saffron (you can use turmeric as it’s cheaper)
- 1 lamb or vegetable stock cube
- 75g couscous
- 1tbsp fresh mint, finely chopped
Method:
- Heat a large pan with the olive oil over a medium heat and fry off the sweet potato, onion and garlic until softened but not browned. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- In the same pan, brown the lamb on all sides. Add all the spices and the potato, onion and garlic back into the pan. Stir thoroughly to combine.
- Add the apricots and stock cube and top up with 500ml water. Stir to combine and bring up to the boil.
- Once up to the boil, turn down to a simmer and leave for one hour (do check though that the ingredients are not sticking to the pan once in a while). Place a lid on the pan or cover in foil around the top. Leave to cook for 1 hour.
- Remove the lid or foil and add the butternut squash. Stir again and leave the lid off.
- After 30 minutes, prepare the couscous as per packet instructions. Once softened, tip into the pan and stir to mix thoroughly. Test the lamb to ensure it is cooked and tender. Sprinkle in the mint
- Ladle into your pots and enjoy!
Nutritional Values:
Calories 413, Fat 21.7g, saturates 7.5g, Carbohydrates 27.3g, Sugar 22.4g, Fibre 6.4g, Protein 27.2g, Salt 1g