Lamb for Easter

Lamb dishes have long been linked with special occasions and holiday traditions.  Lamb is a popular dish for Easter.  When my daughter was in Australia last year, she enjoyed numerous lamb dishes as an everyday meal.  Australian lamb is raised in lush pastures, with no artificial additives or hormone growth promotants.  Lean lamb is packed with protein and essential micro-nutrients such as iron, B-12, and zinc.  Because lamb is so tender and moist, it needs little or no fat for cooking, and nearly half the fat is mono-saturated, the same type of fatty acids found in olive oil and many nuts.  Best of all, you don't have to be a master chef to add lamb to your weeknight meals.  Many people are afraid to cook lamb if they have never done so, thinking it is fussy or difficult.  The variety of cuts are ideal for a range of dishes.

This lovely cookbook is small, but packed with gorgeous yet easy lamb recipes, like rosemary rack of lamb with berry jam;  a lamb panini with fresh beet relish;  caramelized lamb chops with grilled rosemary carrots; porcini-crusted rib chops with fresh pea, mint, and feta salad; Thai-curried lamb shanks with cilantro rice; maple-glazed leg of lamb with squash puree and cranberry-pear chutney; and lamb shank spaghetti with parsley-mint pesto.  Most of the recipes require fewer than 6 ingredients and 30 minutes preparation time.  Think about lamb not just for Easter, but year round.

Porcini-Crusted Lamb Rib Chops with Fresh Peas, Mint, and Feta Salad

Sliced Leg of Lamb on Cucumber and Watercress Salad

 

Caramelized Lamb Chops with Grilled Rosemary Carrots

Cranberry-Marinated Rack of Lamb with Almond Wild Rice