Long-simmering lamb for waning fall days

It’s chilly. I want a fire in the hearth and a simmering pot of stew, or a reasonable facsimile thereof on the stove.

Indeed, braises and stews are foremost in my mind these days. That’s really all I want to cook and eat throughout the cold months. Anything from an Irish stew to a French beef Bourguignon suits my fancy. When lamb shanks came my way recently, I looked to Morocco for inspiration, so the shanks became a kind of tagine, cooked long and slowly to succulence.

To accompany the braised lamb, I chose a spiced carrot salad, a favorite standby of mine. I like to spoon it into a lettuce leaf for a first course or serve it as a side dish. Made with the freshest carrots, it always delights. Though most Moroccan salads are made with cooked vegetables, my version uses slivered raw carrots instead.

The lemony carrots taste lovely just as the recipe is written, perfumed with toasted cumin and coriander, a hint of garlic and a touch of cayenne. But the recipe is versatile. If you want to splash out, try adding a pinch of cinnamon and a topping of fluffy chopped cilantro and thinly sliced jalapeño. Or add crumbled feta and olives. But for this menu, I like the recipe as is, served on the same plate with the lamb and all its juices.