Lamb and prune tagine with toasted sesame, fried almonds and plain rice

Chop a couple of onions into a small dice.

Take a small pinch of saffron, whole or ground with some salt; pour on boiling water and let it dissolve into liquid saffron.

Strip parsley leaves from the large stalks and mince finely.

Heat olive oil in a large pot over high heat and sear bone-in lamb leg cubes in batches, flipping when browned; return all the meat to the pot.

Add the chopped onions, freshly minced garlic, salt, turmeric, black pepper, ground ginger, dried coriander and cumin; toss to combine.

Combine the saffron liquid with more water, pour in and scrape up the brown bits. Bring to a light boil, add the parsley, cover tightly and cook on low until the meat is falling off the bone, around one and a half hours, checking with a fork.

Toast white sesame seeds in a dry pot over medium heat, stirring, about a minute until golden brown; pour out and stir a few minutes to cool.

Fry blanched almonds in oil over medium heat about a minute, stirring, until light golden; lift out with a slotted spoon onto paper towels.

Wash long-grain rice in a strainer until the water runs clear. Melt a piece of butter in a pot over medium heat, add the rice and fry a couple of minutes until coated; season with salt and black pepper.

Cover the rice by about 1.5cm with water or stock, bring to a boil, cover; when the water drops below the rice, turn to low and steam covered for 20 minutes.

Take about half a cup of spiced broth from the tagine (dilute with water if there is little).

Use moist, plump prunes (soak dried ones in boiling water for a couple of hours); slice about half into quarters.

In a saucepan, cover the prunes with the broth and water and boil on high for about 10 minutes until thick.

Gently mix in sugar and cinnamon, then fold in a piece of butter until melted. Pick out the whole prunes for plating.

Mix the sliced prunes into the tagine, transfer to a serving dish and top with the whole prunes, fried almonds, a few pinches of toasted sesame and a little chopped parsley. Serve with crusty bread or the rice.