I love to make a “nice” dinner on Sunday night. Ending one week and moving into another on a good note so to say. I stumbled upon this recipe for Merguez Spiced Lamb Shanks with Chickpeas in the November issue of Food and Wine and just knew we had to make it for the following reasons: I love lamb, Lenny loves chickpeas and we both love spice. The dish said to slow cook in the oven for an hour and a half, I kept it in there for 2 and a half hour, which was perfect as it came out very moist. The scent of the dish was really intoxicating, the way a Moroccan market must smell, with the addition of cumin, fennel, coriander, paprika, allspice, cayenne and a bit of sweetness. The lamb came out very moist and the pieces of meat fell off the bones with a mildly intense flavor. We served it with a whole wheat couscous, some roasted squash and a very nice bottle of Châteauneuf-du-Pape.
