Ouzi (Lamb and Spiced Rice Parcels)

Chop the onion and crush the garlic.

Heat the vegetable oil in a large saucepan and brown the lamb chunks in batches, then set them aside.

Add the onion to the same pan and cook until softened, then stir in the garlic, allspice, cinnamon, cardamom pods, bay leaf, salt and pepper and cook briefly until fragrant.

Return the lamb to the pan, cover with water, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer gently until the lamb is completely tender and yields easily to the back of a spoon; check with a meat thermometer, which will read well above 90°C throughout.

Lift out the lamb with a slotted spoon and set it aside to cool slightly, then strain and reserve the cooking liquid, discarding the bay leaf and cardamom pods.

Rinse the rice until the water runs clear, then cook it in the reserved lamb liquid, topping up with water if needed, until tender and the liquid is absorbed.

Toast the pine nuts in a dry frying pan over low heat, shaking often, until golden.

Shred the cooled lamb into bite-sized pieces and fold it through the cooked rice with the toasted pine nuts.

Lay out a sheet of filo pastry, brush it with melted butter, layer with a second sheet, then spoon a portion of the lamb and rice mixture into one corner.

Fold the pastry over the filling to form a neat parcel, brushing the edges with butter to seal, and repeat with the remaining pastry and filling.

Brush the parcels all over with the remaining butter, arrange them on a baking tray, and bake in a hot oven until deeply golden and crisp.