Rick Stein served up a tasty hunkar begendi Turkish spicy lamb stew on Rick Stein: From Venice to Istanbul.

Rick says: “This stew is spicy with a fair bit of tomato in it and cooked until the sauce is thick and unctuous, but what makes it special is the aubergine purée.”

The ingredients for the red pepper paste are: 660g red peppers, 50g tomato purée, ½ tsp salt, 1 tsp cayenne pepper and 2 tbsp olive oil.

For the aubergine purée: 4 medium aubergines, 30g butter, 30g plain flour, 380ml full-fat milk, 75g Parmesan cheese, grated, 1 lemon, juice only and salt and freshly ground black pepper.

For the lamb stew: 4 tbsp olive oil, 850g boned lamb shoulder, cut into 3cm cubes, 1 tbsp red pepper paste, 2 tbsp tomato paste, 1 onion, chopped, 2 large garlic cloves, chopped, 1 green finger chilli, sliced, 1 green pepper, seeds removed and sliced, 3 tomatoes, peeled and chopped, 1 tsp dried oregano, 1 tsp salt, freshly ground black pepper, to taste, 200ml hot water and chopped flatleaf parsley, to serve.