The Food24 team shares a few lamb tips and their top recipes

Have your mint sauce at the ready as the Food24 team weighs in on some very important lamb matters. Here’s what they had to say:

Natalie Wilson, fearless leader and head of Food24 says: “I love lamb with aubergine – there’s something about the two combined that just works!” We’d recommend this zaatar lamb chops with stuffed aubergines. It’s a real treat and an absolute must-try recipe!

“I have this very handy book in my kitchen,” Natalie goes on the share another little meaty lamb nugget of a tip, “and it tells me that lamb is happiest when served with peas, cabbage or mint.” So, while lamb should be the main event, always make sure to serve up your roasted lamb with a complementary side!

You can’t go wrong with a slow cooked lamb shank! Head of content Tessa Purdon shares her go-to recipe for fall-off-the-bone tender slow cooked lamb shank. Spoiler alert: it contains lush amounts of red wine and is served alongside a cheesy cauli mash!

Our social media and digital content specialist, Katy Rose, says: “I’ve cooked this recipe and it was superb – apricot, origanum and garlic braised lamb shanks!”

Commissioning editor Lauren Goldman reveals: “I don’t eat a lot of lamb (it’s reserved for special occasions) but if I wanted to serve a lamb to impress my family over Easter, this would be the one: braai leg of lamb with chimichurri sauce, cauliflower puree and pomegranate jewels. The weather usually starts cooling down around Easter, but if we’re lucky, there’ll always be those last few days of sunshine, making Easter the perfect time for one last family braai.”

“The second-best part of a roast lamb (after the lamb itself) is the onion, garlic and maybe some potatoes cooking in the lamb juices in the roasting tray underneath the lamb,” says Werner Hayward, Food 24’s sales and sponsorship manager. “It is also so worth it to reduce those good lamb cooking juices with some red wine to make a simple red wine jus.”

Bianca Jones, content producer, says: “As long as roasting is involved, I’m so there for it! I absolutely adore anything roasted, lamb included, and this slow-roasted lamb with mint dressing is a real meaty must. The mint dressing is so fresh and really brings the whole meal together. I also love anything that’s a roasted one-pan wonder hit, so naturally, these Greek lamb chops feature quite often and the clean-up is so easy!”

For more #SheepThrills visit www.cookingwithlamb.com. Supported by the Red Meat Industry of South Africa.