Oven Baked Spicy Lamb Stew With Pickled Onion, Rice & Pitta

Before you begin...

This recipe takes around 5-10 min to prep, so get your casserole dish and all your ingredients ready, then wash your fruit and veg

Note: Make sure your dish is oven-proof and safe to use on the hob. Don't have one? Start cooking in a large, wide-based pan then transfer to an oven-proof dish

Now, let's get started!

Preheat the oven to 220°C/ 200°C (fan)/ gas 7

Peel and finely slice half your red onion[s], chop the remaining onion into wedges

Add the sliced onion to a bowl and set aside for later

Heat a large, wide-based hob-safe oven-proof casserole dish over a high heat

Crush your garlic open by squashing it with the side of a knife and remove the skin

Add your red wine vinegar to the bowl with the sliced onion and set aside to pickle – this is your quick-pickled onion

Once hot, add your lamb mince to the dish with the onion wedges, crushed garlic and a pinch of salt

Cook for 2 min, breaking the mince into large chunks with a wooden spoon, until very lightly browned

Boil a kettle

Add your chopped tomatoes to the dish with your ras el hanout and harissa paste (can't handle the heat? Go easy!)

Add your beef stock mix with 300ml [400ml] [500ml] boiled water

Stir it all together and bring to the boil over a high heat, then put the dish in the oven, uncovered, for 40 min or until the sauce has thickened and the lamb has cooked through (no pink meat!) – this is your oven baked spicy lamb stew

Add your white long grain rice to an oven-proof dish with 300ml [390ml] [600ml] boiled water

Cover tightly with tin foil and put the dish on one side of a baking tray (or two!)

Put the tray[s] in the oven for 30 min or until all the water is absorbed and the rice is cooked – this is your baked rice

Once the stew and rice are almost done, add your wholemeal pitta[s] to the other side of the tray[s] and cook for a final 3-4 min or until warmed through