Don’t let the word “stew” put you off. Yes, I know it’s crippled with connotations of school-dinner gristle and gluey-gravied mess, but the lamb shanks here are anything but that. Of course, you could use shoulder, cut into greed-satisfying chunks, and it still wouldn’t be compromise, but the bone in the shank gives such rounded richness of flavor and there’s something so unpretentiously satisfying about the great meaty hunkiness of it on the plate. Since supermarkets now routinely stock (or will order in) lamb shanks, and since they’re both meaty and cheap, it makes sense to seek them out for this.

The spicing, the muddy softening of the lentils within, owe something to Moroccan cooking, but only obliquely. I’ve used the seasonings—Marsala wine, soy—I have regularly to hand (unlike restaurant chefs, I don’t restock my nonexistent pantry for each new recipe) to bring to this stew the mellow depth I want to find.

As with all stews, this is even better made in advance and reheated; for me, this only makes things easier. The couscous, however, needs to be made last minute. If you don’t own a couscoussier (and there’s no reason why you should), just steam these grains above boiling water in an ordinary vegetable steamer. Of course it’s possible to cook couscous just by steeping it in boiling water (and check package instructions for directions) but I can’t honestly tell you it will make the grains as fluffily light.

Otherwise, with this aromatic, sauce-rich stew, just serve plain rice—or a bowlful of buttery mash, of half potatoes, half parsnips, well seasoned and spiced with mace.