Lamb is delicious meat, that has both cheap cuts and the expensive ones

There’s still a reticence with consumers in embracing this meat – they complain about the strong smell when it’s cooking, that its pricey, it takes too long to cook and is generally not as attractive as chicken or beef.

The reality is lamb is delicious meat, that has cheap cuts and expensive in the same way that beef has, can be cooked slowly or quickly and is as natural as you can find.

Lamb here is often raised on land that can’t grow food crops on like hills and mountains. They feed on the natural habitat like wild thyme and heather which has a profound effect on the taste. I’d rather have one lamb chop from Northern Ireland than ten chicken breasts that have come from an undefined destination. The smell of lamb cooking on a barbecue is intoxicating. Add some spice into the mix and you have something magical. You can buy lamb leg steaks from your butcher. They’re relatively cheap and can be cooked quickly. In the recipe here I’ve rubbed them with brown sugar, cumin, salt and oil before being grilled. The sugars in the meat and the brown sugar give the lamb a lovely crust. Chimichurri sauce is an Argentinian one that goes equally well with lamb and beef. It’s a blend of mint, coriander, parsley with chilli, garlic, vinegar and oil. Legend has it that it was created by an Irishman called Jimmy McCurry that melded into the name when spoken with a Spanish accent. True or not it makes a good story. Spoon some over the hot lamb steaks, let them rest and then add some more. Serve with some roast potatoes, again with some of the herby sauce drizzled over. You can still pick up corn in its husks in supermarkets and greengrocers. For a little end of summer sunshine I’ve added a recipe for a grilled corn and crispy bacon salad to go with the lamb.

Lamb mince won’t break the bank is a great way of getting all the taste for less buck. Here the lamb is cooked slowly with Moroccan spices like cumin, coriander, paprika, cinnamon and turmeric, aromatics and tomatoes. At the end a tin of chickpeas is added and its topped with a creamy parsnip mash and cheese before being baked to lush, golden perfection. Local parsnips are coming into season now and work well with the spicing in the meat.

With the ever changing weather these recipes will tick every box – grilled lamb in case of a nice day and shepherd’s pie in the more likely event of a grey, rainy day. Either way some good local lamb will gladden the soul.