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This elegant pasta dish marries tender minced lamb with a fragrant base of onions, carrot, and fresh rosemary. A touch of wine and stock create a light sauce that clings to fettuccine. The key is quality lamb and patience allowing the onions to become golden and sweet. This is sophisticated comfort food.
This burger borrows from the souvlaki and bifteki tradition of mainland Greece, where minced lamb or a lamb-beef mix is seasoned with dried oregano, garlic and a slug of red wine vinegar, then grilled over charcoal until the outside is dark and the inside still blushes pink. Crumbling feta directly into the mince is a home-cook trick: as the cheese melts it leaves salty, creamy seams through the patty rather than sitting flat on top. The result is much more interesting than a beef burger dressed up with Mediterranean toppings. The supporting cast is straightforward and traditional: a quick tzatziki of strained yoghurt, cucumber, garlic and dill; a sharp tomato and cucumber relish loosened with olive oil; and either toasted pita or a soft brioche bun, depending on whether you want this to lean Greek street food or backyard barbecue. Lamb is forgiving on the grill because its fat is so flavourful, but it can taste muttony if overcooked, so aim for an internal temperature around 60 to 63 degrees. Difficulty is low. The only thing to watch is keeping the mince loose: if you pack the patty tightly it goes dense and rubbery, so handle it just enough to hold together. Serve with a glass of something cold and resinous.
A soft yeasted bread dough rises for 1 hour. Three toppings prep simultaneously: (1) za'atar-and-olive-oil paste; (2) grated akkawi-mozzarella-feta blend with nigella seeds; (3) spiced lamb mince with tomato and pomegranate molasses. Dough divides into 18 balls; each rolls into an 8 cm disc with a slight raised rim. Toppings spoon on. Baked at 230°C on a hot stone or upside-down tray for 6-8 minutes until the dough is gold and the toppings are bubbling / set.
Aubergines and potatoes pan-fry or roast separately. Lamb mince cooks down with onion, garlic, cinnamon and tomato into a rich ragù. The layers go into a deep dish, topped with a cheese-rich béchamel that sets golden in the oven.
The lamb cousin of cottage pie, and the original of the two (cottage pie came later as a beef variant when lamb was harder to find). You brown lamb mince with onion, carrot and celery, then simmer with stock, tomato purée, Worcestershire and rosemary until the gravy is thick enough to hold a spoon upright. Top with garlic-butter mash piled in rough peaks that catch and crisp in the oven, and bake until the surface is deep gold. The lamb gives it a heavier, more savoury character than cottage pie's beef. That's what marks it as shepherd's rather than cottage. Eaten with peas, a spoonful of mint sauce on the side if you're being traditional, and a glass of bitter or a strong red.