Aegean Flavours: A Culinary Celebration of Turkish Cuisine from Hot Smoked Lamb to Baked Figs

A Culinary Celebration of Turkish Cuisine from Hot Smoked Lamb to Baked Figs

I soak the chickpeas in water overnight, then drain them and add fresh water equivalent to about 3 times the weight of the chickpeas (in this case about 1 litre / 34 fl oz / 1 quart) and boil them for 20 minutes. I add a bay leaf and a peeled, whole onion. I don’t add salt because it toughens legumes and lengthens cooking time. I cut the remaining onion into thin slices, put them into another pan and sauté them in butter. I add rosemary, the remaining bay leaf, salt and freshly ground black pepper and stir. I put the lamb and 1 litre (34 fl oz / 1 quart) of boiling water into this pan and leave it to simmer. After 30 minutes, I strain the half-cooked chickpeas and put them into the pan with the lamb and cook the entire mixture for another hour. I prefer to serve lamb shank on the bone because the marrow and the bone enhance the flavor of the broth.

I serve this ideal winter dish with rice cooked with vermicelli, a common Turkish combination. If you prefer, you can simply serve it with toast.

• 300g (10.5 o) chickpeas
• 1 litre (34 fl oz / 1 quart) cold water
• 2 onions
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 litre (34 fl oz / 1 quart) boiling water
• 20g (3/4 oz/ 1 heaped tbsp.) butter
• 1 sprig rosemary
• Salt
• Freshly ground pepper
• 4 lamb shanks