Greek stuffed tomatoes

Ingredients 200g Lamb mince, 1 tbsp cinnamon, 1 tbsp oregano, 1 tbsp thyme, 2 cloves garlic, 50g breadcrumbs, 10 beef tomatoes.

Serves: 10 Preparation: 1 hour

These tomatoes are filled with the rich, warm flavour of moussaka and make a wonderful low-maintenance appetiser.

1) Either mix by hand, or add to a food processor the lamb, herbs, spices, mince and crushed garlic. Season with salt and black pepper and combine.

2) Slice the tops from the tomatoes and carefully cut the solid core with a knife. Insert a fork into the core and twist to remove, scoop out the seeds and discard.

3) Pack the mince tightly into the tomatoes, pressing down firmly, then replace the lids.

4) Bake in the oven at gas mark 5 for 45 minutes and serve hot.

Pasta with lamb & mint pesto

Ingredients Linguine, 400g lamb mince, 20g mint, 5g parsley, 5g pea shoots, olive oil, 1 garlic clove, lemon, 2 tbsp parmigiano, 5g walnuts.

Serves: 4 Preparation: 20 minutes

First of all, apologies for the dreadful quality of the photo but I had no light due to Impending Construction Of New Kitchen. You'll also notice that I have controversially used pasta shells instead of a linguine... this is again due to Kitchen mayhem - I was using up what little stocks I had left!
Despite the tragic image before you, I can assure you that mint pesto tastes incredible, and that it's the perfect partner for lamb mince.
Despite being fanatical about preparing pesto properly (in a mortar and pestle), I have no compunctions about getting creative with it. I've shared recipes for pistachio pesto, olive pesto, pistou (almond), sage pesto and walnut pesto... so it was only a matter of time before the mint came out. Give it a try!

1) Put the pasta on to boil in hot salted water for 10 minutes and strain.

2) To make the pesto - add the mint, parsley and pea shoot leaves to a mortar and pestle and grind to a fine pulp. Add a crushed garlic clove to the mortar bowl along with a pinch of salt and the chopped walnuts. Grind thoroughly, adding a squeeze of lemon juice, olive oil and the parmeggian.

3) Fry off the mince and drain away the fat, toss with the pasta and mint pesto and serve.

Lamb, mint & almond meatballs

Ingredients    500g Lamb mince, mint, 6 tbsp toasted ground almonds, 1/2 small white onion, 2 cloves garlic, 1 tsp cumin, coriander seeds

Makes: 16 meatballs Preparation: 20 minutes

Put out of your mind the sweet perfumed taste of almond and think of the seductive, exotic spices of Moroccan cooking. Lamb and almond is a classic combination and these fragrant meatballs are absolutely wonderfull.

1) Toast the almond slivers and coriander seeds in a dry pan until they are lightly golden, ensuring you shake the pan regularly to ensure they're evenly cooked. The seeds will begin to pop when they're ready, about the same time as the almonds. Grind in a mortar and pestle until they resemble fine crumbs.

2) Peel and dice the onion, then add half of it to a blender, along with 2 cloves of minced garlic, salt, pepper and the chopped mint. Blitz for a few seconds and then add the minced lamb, cumin, coriander seeds and almonds.

3) Pulse thoroughly until the meat has combined to form a ball, then remove from the blender, divide into 16 and roll in the palm of your hand to form small meatballs.

4) To cook the meatballs, add a little drizzle olive oil into a pan and add the meatballs, shaking the pan regularly to ensure they roll around and become evenly coloured. It should take no more than 5 minutes to cook them.

I served these in just a little tomato and red wine sauce with a little extra chopped mint - coated in the sauce they make a fantastic filling for pitta bread!

Lamb, strawberry & basil burgers

Ingredients    500g lamb mince, 60g basil, 300g    strawberries, 1 tsp basil oil, 1/2 small white onion, 1 garlic clove, balsamic vinegar

Makes: 8 burgers Preparation: 20 minutes

Tomato and strawberry are virtually interchangeable as far as flavours go and I often substitute strawberry for tomato in salads or sandwiches. Both go perfectly with basil, balsamic vinegar, cream cheese or mozzarella and the strawberry provides a wonderful platform for the rich lamb of this burger.

1) Slice the tops from the strawberries and puree in a blender until smooth. Pass the puree through a sieve to remove the seeds and rough flesh and set aside.


2) Peel and slice the onion and add half of it, along with the clove of garlic and a handful of chopped basil to your blender. Puree until finely chopped, then add the lamb mince and 2-3 tablespoons of the strawberry puree. Season well with salt and pepper, then blend until the mixture combines to form a ball.


3) Divide the meat into separate patties and sizzle in a pan with a drizzle of basil oil, turning regularly until cooked.


4) I like to further enhance the flavour of this burger by smothering it in my basil, strawberry and balsamic dressing. To make the dressing pulverise the remainder of the 60g of basil in a mortar and pestle, then stir through two tablespoons of strawberry puree and a teaspoon of balsamic vinegar.

Lavender glazed rack of lamb

Ingredients  Rack of lamb, 3 cloves garlic,   rosemary, red wine, lavender jam, salt, pepper, butter

Serves: 4 Preparation: 40 minutes

Continuing with my series of lavender themed recipes - this makes a perfect Sunday lunch - especially with my lavender roast carrots, some mustard mash and some pea & mint puree for it to rest upon. As I've mentioned in previous recipes, rosemary and lavender are perfect partners and both of them go wonderfully with lamb.


1) First trim the lamb. A rack of lamb comes as a solid piece of meat with the bones sticking out of it and a thick piece of fat at the back of it. You need to score this fat with a sharp knife and slice in between each bone, leaving about 2cm of lamb at the base of each piece so that it remains one joint.
If like me you're a vegetarian, you may wish to ask someone to help you here - I bought this lamb from Swillington Organic Farm and it was a beautiful cut of meat but it didn't half smell of death! (unlike water-injected inferior supermarket meats which don't give off much of a smell) Fainting and waking up with your face in a plate of pureed peas is no fun for anyone.


2) Peel and crush 3 cloves of garlic and mix them with a teaspoon of butter. Spoon the garlic butter onto an ovenproof dish and rest the lamb upon it, pressing firmly so that the garlic is released slowly into the gravy as the lamb juices begin to flow, rather than burn in the oven and become bitter.


3) Finely chop a stalk of rosemary and stir in a good pinch of salt and black pepper. Brush the lamb all over (including the incisions you made) with the lavender jam (you may need to melt it down a little if it's come straight from the fridge) and then dust with the salt, pepper and rosemary mixture.


4) Pour a glass of red wine around the base of the lamb to keep the lamb moist and enrich the gravy. Roasting times will vary depending on the weight of the lamb and on whether you like the lamb rare or well done. Generally, an 8 bone rack will take about 30 minutes at 200 degrees to be cooked medium rare. The picture above is of a medium-rare rack. Rare = 20 minutes, Medium Rare = 25 minutes, Medium = 30, Well Done 35-40 minutes.


5) To carve the lamb, just remove the fat (it should slice right off the meat) and then slice through the remaining 2 centimetres of meat between each bone. Stir the gravy well and spoon over the lamb to serve.

Lavender lamb stew

Ingredients 3 tablespoons Lavender Jam/2   teaspoons dried lavender, 2 onions, 3 stalks of rosemary, 900g lamb, 2 carrots, 2 sweet potatoes, salt, 1 pint beef/lamb/venison stock, red wine, butter/rosemary oil, Worcestershire sauce.

Serves: 6 Preparation: 2 hours


My favourite ingredient is lavender. It has an incredible flavour and scent, medicinal properties and is perfectly partnered with rosemary which makes this stew sinfully rich and fragrant. You can use my Lavender Jam to caramelise the onions which gives this stew that wonderful dark French Onion glaze and hint of sweetness, or keep it savoury and make your own lavender essence to add to the stock.


1) Peel and dice your onions and add to a stock pot with 2 tablespoons of butter or rosemary oil. As the onions begin to soften, crush 4 or 5 cloves of garlic into the pan along with the rosemary stalks (chopped finely) and stir through.


2) At this stage add the lavender jam and caramelise the onions if you're taking this approach. If not, peel and dice the sweet potatoes and carrots as the onions and garlic begin to soften, then set aside.


3) Add the chunks of lamb and stir through until the meat begins to colour then add 1/3 of a bottle of red wine and stir through. Allow to simmer on a low heat.


4) If you are not using lavender jam, infuse the beef stock with the dried lavender by simmering on a low heat in a separate pan for about 10 minutes. Strain the stock through a sieve into the stock pot and discard the lavender.


5) Add the carrots and sweet potato and stir through. Leave on the hob for at least 30 minutes to allow the sauce to reduce and the carrot and potatoes to soften. Taste the sauce and season according to taste with salt, pepper and worcestershire sauce.

Bolognaise stuffed marrow

Ingredients Quorn mince (or beef or lamb mince), passata tomatoes, 1 white onion, basil oil, butter, basil, oregano, parsley, garlic, red wine, marrow, parmigiano.

Serves: 4 Preparation: 35 minutes
If you let a courgette keep growing you end up with a marrow - a juicy, fresh and delicious marrow that is perfect for stuffing with something heady like my bolognaise.

1) Wash the marrow thoroughly and cut off the ends. Slice the marrow in half lengthways and then depending on the length of the marrow cut in half sideways. The average marrow will give you four pieces suitable for stuffing.

2) Using a spoon or a flexible filleting knife, remove the core where you may see seeds developing like a melon. For future reference, these seeds are edible, but the flesh you remove from the marrow centre can be discarded for this recipe.

3) Put the marrow pieces on a baking tray along with a whole bulb of garlic and roast them both for 30 minutes.

4) To make the bolognaise: Finely dice one white onion and sautee in a tablespoon of basil oil and a teaspoon of butter until it has completely softened. Add a glass of red wine, some finely chopped basil, oregano and parsley and stir through.

5) If you are making this with meat - brown the mince and strain off all of the meat juices before adding it to the pan. If you are making this with Quorn - add the Quorn mince from frozen and stir through.

6) Add the passata tomatoes and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Leave to simmer on a low heat until the garlic has been roasted - once roasted, it can be squeezed from the skin like a puree - mince the garlic in a press to ensure it can be evenly stirred through.

7) Spoon the bolognaise onto the baked marrow pieces and sprinkle freshly grated parmeggian over the top. Bake for a further 5 minutes in the oven and serve sprinkled with freshly topped parsley.

Lamb & mint burgers

Ingredients 500g lamb mince, white onion, mint leaves

Making burgers is so quick and simple that I refuse to entertain the idea that there is any excuse for the kind of specimens that come under the category of "convenience food" and "fast food". They're unhealthy, low quality and truly no faster.


1) Finely dice half a white onion and fry in a little basil oil.

2) Add the onions to a blender along with the lamb mince, some freshly chopped mint, a pinch of salt and pepper and blitz.


3) Form patties with your hands, packing the meat quite tightly and either BBQ, grill or cook in the oven. 


I served with fresh lettuce from the garden and ketchup in a burger bun but these are also fabulous with feta and pitta!

Moussaka

Ingredients Aubergine, rosemary, parmigiano, cheddar, cream, eggs, cinnamon, passata, flour, butter, basil oil, onion, garlic, lamb/Quorn mince, salt, red wine

1) Slice your aubergines and lay the slices in a colander. Sprinkle salt on the aubergines and set aside.

2) Dice the onion, crush 2 garlic cloves and add into a pan with a drizzle of olive oil and some finely chopped rosemary. As the onions begin to soften add a glug of red wine and stir through. Leave on the hob until the liquid reduces.

3) If you are using Quorn mince, add straight into the pan with the other ingredients. If you are using lamb, brown the mince in a seperate pain, drain and then add to the onions.

4) Add a teaspoon of cinnamon and stir in some passata tomatoes, then spoon the mince into an oven-proof dish.

5) The salt will have drawn the bitter liquid from the aubergines, rinse the liquid, pat the aubergines dry and brush with a little olive oil. Dry fry, turning frequently until the aubergines are meltingly soft. Layer onto the mince.

6) Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a pan and stir a tablespoon of plain flour into it to form a roux. Whisk 3 eggs into the roux and finish with a generous dash of cream. Pour the sauce over the aubergines and sprinkle with grated cheese.

7) Bake in the oven for 20 minutes and serve, sprinkled with parmeggian