Azerbaijani lamb and chickpea soup cooked in clay pots (Piti)

1. Soak the chickpeas overnight in plenty of water; steep the saffron in 3 tablespoons of hot water.

2. Cut the lamb shoulder into 4 large pieces and divide between 4 clay pots (or one large lidded pot) with the drained chickpeas; cover each with about 350 ml cold water.

3. Bring to the boil, carefully skim off the foam, then cover and cook over very low heat (or in a 160 °C oven) for 2 hours until the meat and chickpeas are very tender.

4. Add the potatoes, peeled and cut into large cubes, the quartered onion, the peeled chestnuts and the prunes, season with salt and pepper and cook for another 40 minutes.

5. Pour in the saffron water for the last 10 minutes to turn the soup a lovely golden yellow.

6. Traditionally it's eaten in two courses: first the broth is poured over lavash torn into the bowl and spooned up sprinkled with dried mint; then the meat, potatoes and chickpeas are mashed with a fork and eaten as a second course.

Tip: Piti is the pride of the town of Shaki, where it's cooked in individual clay pots beside the embers. The chestnuts and prunes add a gentle sweet-sour note; if you can't find chestnuts, just leave them out.