5 ways with lamb

It’s spring and it’s Easter, which calls for rich and tender lamb

1 Shepherd’s favourite

Yep, it’s the shepherd’s version that uses lamb but give this classic a new look by topping with pastry or sprinkle breadcrumbs over the potato and you have Cumberland pie. How about shepherd’s pie muffins? Cook the ingredients as usual and then fill muffin tins with the lamb mix, top with mashed potato and cook in the oven for about 15 minutes until piping hot and thoroughly cooked through. You could even line the muffin tin holes with pastry first.

2 Shank style

Braised lamb shanks are great value and make a stunning dish. Easy to serve as each is a portion, you can braise up to two days in advance.

3 Take five

Five ingredients is all you need to make super-tasty and supereasy lamb koftas. Mix lamb mince with ground cumin and coriander, crushed garlic cloves and chopped mint, roll into oval shapes, pop on a skewer, brush with oil and griddle. They’re lean too and when served in a flatbread with salad make a lighter option for spring dining.

4 Crowd-pleasing curry

If you’re left with a pile of lamb after Easter Sunday, cook up a fragrant lamb curry. Cooked with spices, spinach, cashews and light coconut milk and served with rice it’s a low-calorie crowd-pleaser.

5 On a roll

Give snacking and afternoon teas a twist with lamb sausage rolls. Fry onion, garlic, rosemary and cumin, combine with lamb mince and divide mix between sheets of puff pastry. Roll up, slice and bake for about 30 minutes until cooked through. Top tip: freeze the roll before cutting for 10 minutes to make it easier to slice.