Healthy Lamb Recipes for Dinner Tonight

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This recipe can of course be served with accompanying fresh vegetables - but personally I prefer just to have two portions of the shepherds' pie!

To make my version of shepherd's pie, you will need:

1 pound (500g) of minced/ground lamb
2 pounds (1kg) of potatoes (I use maris piper)
1 small onion (finely chopped)
1 small carrot (finely diced)
1 tbsp of frozen peas
2 large cloves of garlic (crushed)
2 small red chilli peppers (de-seeded and finely chopped)
1 tbsp of freshly chopped mint leaves
1 tbsp of dijon mustard
Salt/freshly ground black pepper

Peel and chop the potatoes and boil them for 20 to 25 minutes in salted water until soft. Put your oven on to pre-heat to 200 degrees centigrade or equivalent. In a large pan, drizzle a little olive oil and sweat the onions off for a few minutes. Remove them from the pan and add the mince to brown. When the mince is fully browned, re-add the onions along with the carrot, peas, garlic, chillis and mint. Season to taste and simmer gently until the potatoes are ready.

Mash the potatoes and add the dijon mustard, stirring it through well. In to a casserole dish, pour the lamb mixture and top with the mash. Bake for about 30 minutes with the lid off the casserole dish. If desired, the finished pie can be browned under a hot grill to give a nice crispy topping.

I came up with this particular lamb recipe - as I so often do - simply by considering a healthy way in which to combine some of my favourite ingredients.

For two people, you will require:

4 small, boneless lamb chops or cutlets
2 large sweet potatoes (peeled and sliced to 1/2" or 1 1/4cm)
1/2 pint (280ml) of water or fresh lamb or chicken stock
2 garlic cloves (crushed or finely chopped)
1 tbsp of olive oil
1/2 tsp of ground cumin
1 tbsp of fresh mint leaves (roughly chopped)
2 tbsp of low fat or fat free natural yoghurt
Salt

Put the oven on to preheat to 150 degrees centigrade or equivalent. In to a small dish put the yoghurt, half the mint and one of the garlic cloves. Stir well, cover with clingfilm and refrigerate.

Mix the olive oil, cumin and remaining mint and garlic in a large bowl, season to taste, and add the sweet potato slices. Stir them around well until they are all fully and evenly coated. Taking a large casserole dish, arrange the lamb and sweet potatoes alternately in a circle and pour over the water or stock. Cook for one and a half to two hours until the lamb is tender. Plate the meat and potatoes and top with the yoghurt sauce. Garnish with more fresh mint leaves.

This is a modestly spiced chilli dish, perfect for those who may enjoy a bit of heat in their food but dislike the sometimes over-powering heat of something like Chilli Con Carne.

For two people, you will require:

1lb (450g) of minced/ground lamb
1 400g tin of chopped tomatoes in tomato juice
1 tsp of cumin seeds (toasted for a few minutes in a dry pan then crushed)
1 red chilli (de-seeded and finely chopped)
1 green chilli (de-seeded and finely chopped)
3 small shallots (finely sliced)
2 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
3 tsp of finely chopped fresh mint
5oz (125g) of long grain or basmati rice
2" (5cm) of cucumber (skinned, de-seeded and finely chopped)
4oz (100g) of fat free or low fat natural yoghurt

The first step is to prepare the yoghurt sauce. Combine the yoghurt, cucumber and one tsp of the mint in a small glass bowl. Cover with clingfilm and refrigerate for a couple of hours at least, if time permits, for all the flavours to infuse. This can even be done the night before.

Brown the lamb in a large saucepan, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon. Add the tomatoes, shallots, garlic, chilli, cumin and mint and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer gently for half an hour, stirring occasionally.

Cook the rice per the instructions on the packet, timed to be ready at the same time as the chilli. Form a bed of rice on each plate, add the chilli and top with a large spoonful of the yoghurt sauce.

This healthy lamb stew can be prepared in less than an hour from start to finish and as it is all prepared in the one pot or pan, it is incredibly simple as well.

Ingredients (Serves Two)

1lb diced leg of lamb
1 pint of fresh chicken stock
2 large potatoes (washed but unpeeled roughly chopped)
1 large carrot (roughly chopped)
1 clove of garlic (finely chopped)
1 tsp freshly chopped mint

Method

Add the lamb to a large non-stick pan and bring it up to a medium heat, stirring constantly, until all the pieces are evenly browned. Add the hot chicken stock and bring to a gentle simmer while you prepare the vegetables. After the lamb has been simmering for about 15 minutes, add the chopped vegetables and continue to simmer for a further half hour. Add the chopped mint 5 minutes before the end of the alloted cooking time.

Note that the stock here may well provide all the seasoning required but check before serving and, if necessary, add a little salt and freshly ground black pepper.