A Middle Eastern-spiced play on Spanish pinchos. Perfect with a toothpick stuck in, served alongside beer or bubbles. Or use these little nuggets of joy to top a crunchy Israeli-style chopped salad… or as a punchy accompaniment to a delicate pilaf. Literally never not delicous.

• 500g lamb
• 2 tsp pul biber
• ½ tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ¼ tsp ground allspice
• 1 tsp dried mint
• 1 tsp onion granules
• ½ tsp garlic granules
• ½ lemon (or 3 tbsp lemon juice)
• 1 tsp salt
• Black pepper
• 2 tbsp veg oil

1. Dump the lamb mince into a bowl and enthusiastically scatter over all of the spices
2. Squeeze in a small amount of lemon juice (keeping the rest of the half lemon for later)
3. Mix thoroughly with your hands, making sure the spices are well-distributed and squeezing the mixture together into a firm-ish ball
4. Heat the oil in a large non-stick pan over a medium-high heat
5. Pinch off small pieces of the minced lamb mixture (just using your thumb and two fingers, don’t compress them or roll them – uneven and rough around the edges is the name of the game). This amount of lamb will make 24-26 pinches
6. Pop them into the pan one after the other as you quickly pinch them
7. Fry on one side for about 5 mins then flip and cook for a further 2 mins
8. Turn the heat down and squeeze over the remaining lemon and a tiny splash of water
9. Turn the pinches over in the dressing, scraping the brown off the bottom of the pan and combining the lamb fat and lemon juice into a savoury, glossy glaze to coat your lamb
10. Turn off the heat and serve immediately. Try not to eat them all on your way from the kitchen to the living room.

If you’d like to spice these little bites in other ways, go for your life. Replace the cinnamon and allspice with turmeric and fenugreek for an Indian take. Or just cut out everything except the garlic, onion and paprika for the fuss-pots.

Rich, savoury, spiced and sweet. Feeds 2. Serve over a pile of cous cous, scattered with toasted almonds and sliced green olives. Add a drained tin of chickpeas with the green beans if you want to bulk it out for 4.

• 2 tbsp veg oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 300g lamb neck fillet, sliced around 3mm thick
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp ground coriander
• ½ tsp paprika
• ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• ½ tsp pul biber (or a pinch of chilli flakes)
• Pinch of saffron
• 1 heaped tbsp tomato puree
• ½ lamb stock cube, crumbled
• 7 dried apricots, roughly chopped
• 1 preserved lemon, flesh discarded and skin chopped
• 400ml boiling water
• 8 chantenay carrots, topped and tailed
• 100g fine green beans, cut into 1 inch pieces

1. Heat the oil in a deep lidded frying pan over a medium heat
2. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally for 5 mins. Add the garlic and cook for a further 3 mins
3. Turn the heat up, add the lamb and stir in until.it goes brown round the edges
4. Add the stock, tomato puree and spices, and stir fry for 2 mins
5. Add the boiling water, apricots and preseved lemon, bring to a bubble and scrape all the delicous brown off the bottom
6. Add the whole carrots and stir in
7. Turn to a low simmer, put the lid on and cook for 25 mins, stirring a couple of times to make sure it’s not sticking and turning the carrots over
8. Take the lid off, add the green beans and stir together, making sure the beans are submerged
9. Simmer for a further 15 mins and taste to check the seasoning. Add salt if needed and serve straight away

A delightful meld of savoury and sweet flavours – and a beautiful combination of tender meat bathed in a rich, spiced sauce. And, bonus, it’s super-easy to make!

• 500g lamb neck fillet or shoulder, cut into chunks
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp ground turmeric
• 2 tsp paprika
• ½ tsp chilli flakes
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 onions, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 2 tsp honey
• Pinch saffron
• 350ml lamb or chicken stock
• 1 tin chopped tomatoes
• Handful of dried apricots
• 1 preserved lemon (or juice of half a lemon)
• 1 tin of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• Handful fresh coriander, chopped
• Small handful fresh mint, chopped

1. Mix all the ground spices together
2. Toss the lamb pieces in half this spice mix and leave to marinate in the fridge for a couple of hours
3. Pre-heat the oven to 140C fan (160C)
4. Heat the olive oil in a deep, heavy-based casserole dish and brown the seasoned meat in small batches
5. Remove to one side once it’s browned all over
6. Lower the heat, add the onion and garlic to the pan with the remaining spices and cooking, stirring, until softened and lightly coloured
7. Add the honey, saffron, stock, tomatoes and apricots, season and bring to the boil
8. Return the meat to the pan, stir in and stick the lid on
9. Cook in the oven for an hour
10. Cut the preserved lemon in half and discard the interior pulp. Finely chop the skin and stir into the tagine with the chickpeas. Cook in the oven with the lid on for a further 30 mins
11. (If you want to thicken the sauce, lift the meat out of the pan with a slotted spoon and put the pan back on the hob over over a high heat. Boil until thickened and reduced, then stir the meat back in)
12. Check the seasoning and stir in the coriander and mint
13. Serve with bread (ideally the flat white loaves served alongside all Moroccan dishes), rice or cous cous. Plus a spoonful of plain yogurt and a herby, lemony salad.