Out of the Pod and into your bowl, Vicky Jones shares her recipe for this hearty bean soup.

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 300g lamb shank
• 1/2 cup dried chickpeas, soaked for 24 hours and drained, or half 14-oz can, drained
• 1/2 cup dried green lentils, rinsed and drained
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 3 ribs celery, trimmed and chopped
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp saffron strands
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 4 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
• 3 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• Lemon quarters, for serving

Directions
1 Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the lamb and brown on all sides. Add the chickpeas, lentils, onion, celery, spices and tomato paste. Add 6 1/2 cups water, cover the pan and bring the mixture to a boil. Boil for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat and simmer until the chickpeas are tender and the meat is falling off the bone, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

2 Remove the lamb from the soup and strip the meat off the bone, then chop the meat and return it to the saucepan.

3 Place the flour in a small bowl. Slowly whisk in 1 1/4 cups cold water, whisking until the mixture is completely smooth, then stir into the soup. Return the soup to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes to thicken.

4 Stir in the chopped fresh herbs, season with salt and plenty of pepper and serve with lemon quarters on the side.

Prep & cook time: 3 hours
Serves:6

BUY THIS BOOK
Excerpted from Out of the Pod by Vicky Jones.
Recipes Copyright © 2015 Vicky Jones, Photography copyright © 2015 William Reavell. Excerpted by permission of Ryland, Peters & Small and CICO Books. All rights reserved.