Lamb Harira

• Lamb Harira

Ah the noble art of recycling. Here's how it goes. We were having a barbq and there was a very hot load of charcoal with nothing more to barbq - unsatisfactory I thought. Next day's main meal was a rolled piece of lamb. Onto the barbq it went, where the fat on the outside caused an inferno to erupt. On with the lid and  the lamb browned nicely. Next I put the lamb in a roasting tray on some sliced onions and whole garlic cloves, threw in some red wine and the remains of a jug of roast chicken gravy. I covered it tightly with foil and popped the whole thing into the barbq again, closing the vents so that it cooled gradually. I left it overnight and next morning the lamb was amazing, falling apart and smokily delicious. So we had this with some roast vegetables and bulgur wheat. 

Some lamb was left over. Another chance to recycle... So the following soup/stew was the result.

• 2 T olive oil
• Leftover lamb - about 500g shredded roughly (it will break up while the soup cooks)
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 11/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons sweet paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 bay leaf
• a pinch of chilli flakes (I used alepo)
• 2 cups stock (I used the leftover sauce from the lamb dish and some added water)
• 2 x 400g cans Chopped Tomatoes 
• 1/2 cup puy or beluga lentils 
• 1/2 bunch coriander, leaves finely chopped, plus extra leaves to serve
• 1/2 bunch parsley, leaves chopped
• I jar Navarrico chickpeas, drained
• Thick Greek-style yoghurt and toasted pita bread, to serve

Sweat the onion in the oil till soft.  Add the meat, tomato paste, spices and canned tomatoes and stir to combine and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the hot stock and lentils, cover and simmer over low heat for about 20 minutes while the lentils cook. Then add the chickpeas and half the chopped green herbs, reserving the rest for serving.