Lamb with chestnuts and pumpkin

Last weekend I went to my mother's house in the countryside with some friends. We picked chestnuts and walnuts and my mother also gave me apples and a pumpkin and home made quince jelly, all from the garden.
All of this tastes fantastic and I wondered what I could cook with it. So I checked my cooking bible, Claudia Roden's 'The book of Jewish food' and I found a recipe of lamb with chestnuts. I also found a recipe with pumpkin and chestnuts as a side dish for couscous, so I decided to combine things.
Peeling chestnuts is a real pain and it takes ages, but the result is worth it!



Lamb with chestnuts and pumpkin

Serves 3-4

600 g lamb meat
1 onion, chopped
sunflower oil
1 tsp cinnamon
1 chilli, chopped
20 chestnuts
500 g pumpkin, chopped

Cut the meat in cubes of around 3 cm.
Fry onion and chilli in oil on low heat until golden.
Raise the heat, add the meat and add pepper and salt. Fry the meat until brown on all sides.
Add boiling water and cinnamon. Let the mixture boil, then let it simmer for 1,5-2 h until the meat is very soft.
Make a cut in the form of a cross in each chestnut on top and boil them for 5 min. Peel them while they're still hot.
Add chestnuts and pumpkin to the meat and simmer for 10 min. until they are cooked.