New Season Lamb

As well as the blue skies and daffodils, there's something else to be excited about.

Easter, just days ago, marked the start of the new lamb season. There’s actually a real foodie debate around exactly when “new season” lamb arrives, some saying the meat is far more flavoursome in May. But, I'm going with Easter, on the basis that if it's good enough for Gordon Ramsay, it’s good enough for me and I can't wait to get cooking!

It is true however that from May onwards and throughout the summer, the lamb will have benefited from a more relaxed start to life and time to graze on grass and therefore the flavour will be more developed and intense, but for now I’m going to start dreaming up some recipes for the first lamb of the season which is now available from one of excellent suppliers, George Bower.

Lamb goes well with a variety of flavours, some of them surprisingly strong and powerful. Cheaper cuts of lamb such as neck are best used in casseroles and stews and I’m looking forward to cooking up a Morrocon dish with mint, garlic and rosemary for a tasty midweek meal. And, perhaps something a bit more special which I can never resist when I see it on a menu: rack of lamb. I’m thinking about cooking it with a herb crust and serving it with a mint and pea puree.

I have a feeling that lamb will be coming very soon to plates at Charlie and Evelyn’s Table too...