It’s cold here in Canberra…and that means my body is crying out for warm , hearty food.

Usually, that means crispy buttery pastry and creamy mash (nom nom nom), so it’s a challenge to find meals that are both filling and relatively low calorie. But this tagine really fits the bill…I do hope you enjoy it!

Serves 8 : 340 calories per serve

what you need

500g diced lamb shoulder

500g butternut pumpkin, peeled and cut into 2.5cm chunks

300g tin chickpeas, drained

100g whole prunes

400g tin whole tomatoes

450ml veal stock

¾ cup couscous

1 large onion, sliced

2 large cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 ½ tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp ground ginger

2 pinches saffron

handful of roughly chopped mint

low fat greek yoghurt to serve

olive oil spray

salt and freshly ground black pepper

what to do

Preheat the oven to 150C (130C fan forced).

Spray a large, ovenproof heavy-based pan with olive oil spray and place over a high heat. Brown the lamb wel then remove from the pan and set aside. Add a little bit of water to the pan to deglaze.

Add another short spray of olive oil to the pan and fry the onion over a medium heat for five minutes until slightly golden, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic, cinnamon, cumin seeds, ginger and saffron and stir over the heat for 30 seconds until fragrant.

Add the meat back into the pan with the onion and add chickpeas, stock and tomatoes. Bring to the boil, then turn down to a gentle simmer. Cover and cook for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, place couscous and a pinch of salt into a medium bowl and add the same amount of boiling water. Cover with a tea towel and let sit for five minutes. When couscous has absorbed the water and is tender, fork through the couscous to separate the grains.

After 30 minutes, add the butternut pumpkin and the prunes to the lamb, and transfer pan to the oven. Cook for one hour or until lamb is tender and pumpkin is cooked through. Season with sea salt and black pepper to taste.

Stir the mint through the tagine and serve immediately with a dollop of low fat Greek yoghurt.