Today’s two recipes are ideal for the midterm break. You can try something new and they are good recipes to get your children involved in if they are showing any interest in cooking. This is a meal we make at the cookery school as it is easy to learn and tastes fantastic. The tagine is a traditional Moroccan dish and it is beautifully aromatic without being too spicy. You could also use shoulder of lamb but, if you do, remember that the shoulder cooks a bit slower than the leg so give it some extra time and check that it is tender.

The juicy apricots and tender butternut squash give the dish a wonderful sweetness that all the family should enjoy. Dates are more traditional and they give a darker tagine, but either gives the sweetness you want.

The pear and mixed berry crunch is a great pudding for when you have a crowd of children in the house who are looking for a treat. It works with any fruit. I like it with apples. Irish Bee Sensations make a very nice sugar-free jam that they sweeten with their own honey. It would also be particularly delicious with custard or ice cream.

Happy cooking.

Home Chef with Neven Maguire is on RTÉ One on Wednesdays at 7.30pm. On Friday mornings, Neven chats with Marty on Marty in the Morning on Lyric FM.

Lamb & butternut squash tagine

Serves four to six

3 lbs diced leg of lamb

2 tbsp rapeseed oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 large carrots, finely diced

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground ginger

¼ tsp saffron strands

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tbsp runny honey

100g (4oz) ready-to-eat dried apricots, cut into quarters

600ml (1 pint) chicken stock (from a cube is fine)

1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeds removed and cut into 1cm (1/2in) dice

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Steamed couscous, to serve

Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley and toasted pine nuts, to garnish

  • Heat the rapeseed oil in a large heavy-based pan and sauté the onion and carrot for three to four minutes until the onion has softened but not coloured. Stir in the lamb and continue to sauté until well browned all over. Stir in the garlic with the spices and continue to cook for another minute.
  • Add the honey to the spiced lamb mixture with the apricots and stock. Give everything a good stir and bring to the boil. Season to taste, then reduce the heat, cover and simmer for one hour. Remove the lid and stir in the butternut squash and cook for another 45 minutes to one hour until the lamb and butternut squash are lovely and tender. Arrange on plates with the couscous and scatter over the parsley and pine nuts to serve.

    • Pear & mixed berry crunch

    Serves four to six

    350g frozen fruits of the forest, thawed

    3 tbsp light muscovado sugar

    4 tbsp blueberry jam (with no added sugar)

    6 ripe pears, peeled, quartered and cored

    100g (4oz) fresh white breadcrumbs

    50g (2oz) butter, melted

  • Preheat the oven to 1900C (3750F/ gas mark five). Mix the fruits of the forest with the sugar and jam, then add in the pears and toss until well combined. Tip into a deep baking dish, measuring about 18cm (7in) x 28cm 11 1/2in) and cover with foil. Bake for about 20 minutes or until the pears are tender when pierced with a knife.
  • Mix the breadcrumbs with the butter and scatter over the fruit mixture. Bake uncovered for another 10 to 15 minutes until the breadcrumbs are crispy and golden. Serve hot.

    • Cookery demonstration

    Neven will be giving a cookery demonstration at 6.30pm in the Tullamore Court Hotel on Wednesday, 4 March in aid of Clara Pool. Tickets cost €22 and are available from the hotel on 057-934666. We have two tickets to give away, just email rhealy@farmersjournal.ie with your name, number and address and the answer to the following question: What is the name of Neven Maguire’s restaurant?