As we have mentioned before, lots of people associate lamb with spring. And, as winter appears on the frosty horizon, the thought of young lambs gambolling in the warm spring sunshine is very attractive.

However, this year's spring lambs have now had several months to develop plenty of flavour. Put simply, they are eating well.

Here is a recipe from Quality Meat Scotland which will take the chill off days like this one.

All we will add is a little repeated advice from Kirsty Fox, Marketing Manager at QMS, said: 'When shopping for lamb make sure to look out for the blue Scotch Lamb PGI logo in supermarkets and at local butchers to ensure your lamb is of the highest industry standards.'

There are two versions of the recipe. One is for a slow cooker and, if you don't have one of those, the second method just uses a hob. The ingredients are the same for both.

Enjoy!

You can find lots more recipes at Scotch Kitchen.

Scotch Lamb Pilaf

Serves 4 

Ingredients:

·           500g diced Scotch Lamb PGI shoulder

·           2 x medium onions, thinly sliced

·           130g dried apricots

·           2 x tsp curry powder

·           1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes

·           250g basmati rice

·           1 x flat tsp ground cinnamon

·           2 x cloves garlic, minced

·           1 x reduced salt lamb stock cube (if you can’t find lamb, try a chicken or beef stock cube instead)

·           600ml boiling water

·           Sea salt and black pepper

·           1 x lemon

·           4g fresh mint, finely chopped

·           4g fresh parsley, finely chopped

·           40g pine nuts

·           Scottish rapeseed oil 

Slow Cooker Method:

Prep time - 15 mins

Cook time - 4 hours

1.     Turn the slow cooker to high

2.     Pour in the tinned tomatoes

3.     Pour the boiling water over the stock cube and stir well to dissolve - pour into the slow cooker

4.     Brown the meat and onions in some oil in a frying pan then add to the slow cooker

5.     Add the garlic to the slow cooker along with the curry powder and ground cinnamon

6.     Add the rice and mix well

7.     Slice the apricots and add to the slow cooker, season with some salt and pepper

8.      Put on the lid, reduce the heat to low and cook for 4 hours

9.      Dry fry the pine kernels to light brown

10.   Mix the herbs with the pine nuts and sprinkle over the dish before serving

11.   Serve with a wedge of lemon to squeeze

Hob Method:

Prep time - 15 mins

Cook time - 80 mins

1.     Heat the oil in a large saucepan and fry the diced lamb to colour

2.     Peel and thinly slice the onions

3.     Peel and mince the garlic

4.     Add the onions and garlic to the pan along with the curry powder and ground cinnamon - stir well and cook for a couple of mins

5.     Add the tinned tomato and the boiling water, crumble over the stock cube and season with some salt and black pepper

6.     Cut the apricots into thin strips and add to the pan

7.     Bring to the boil, lower the heat and cover - cook for 60 mins, stirring occasionally

8.     Add the rice and mix well

9.     Cover the pan and cook for a further 5 mins ,then turn off the heat and leave the pan with the lid on for 15 mins to allow the rice to cook

10.   Finely chop the mint and parsley

11.   Dry fry the pine kernels to brown

12.   Mix the herbs with the pine nuts and sprinkle over the pilau before serving

13.   Serve with a wedge of lemon to squeeze