If you're like a lot of home cooks, you're afraid—terrified, even!—of a little lamb. But spring is on the horizon, dude, so now's the time to buck up.
Because here's the truth: Cooking lamb is no different from cooking beef or pork. Depending on the cut, you can braise, roast, grill, or simply pan sear it. You can cook it to whatever your desired doneness, from rare all the way to well done—though "well done" is a bit of a misnomer, since lamb is best when it isnotwell done. Keep it pink in the center, okay?
Unless, that is, you're cooking lamblarb. A Southeast Asian meat salad, larb is prepared by stir-frying ground meat with lime, chiles, and fish sauce until it's cooked through. Usually made with toasted ground rice, this version simplifies the method, choosing instead to serve the dish with steamed rice, which you can pile into lettuce cups along with the cooked lamb, chopped peanuts, and a host of any sweet, sour, spicy, or herbal accompaniments you can think of.
Hate lettuce? That's the spirit! Here, make this recipe instead. The eggplant-and-lamb mixture is stuffed into chickpea crêpes, which are easier to make than you might think and allow you to call thess "tacos." (Yes, the quotes are necessary.)
Okay, enough with ground lamb. Thisweeknight Indiandish relies on cubed leg roast emboldened with onion, garlic, ginger, and chiles. Oh, and a flurry of spices. Serve it over basmati rice or with flatbread. Or go off the Indian brand and turn it into ahummusorricotta bowl.
Believe it or not, this next dish is also weeknight friendly, although the cut of lamb used is a bit pricier, so you might want to save it for company. Lambbackstrapsare cut from the loin, are exceptionally tender, and go well with rosemary, thyme, and oregano oil—which is how they're prepared here! Goes great with green olive salad.
Finally, how about some lamb chops? My colleagueSam Worleyactually cooked this dish with the creator, Melissa Clark of the New York Times, andhe was baffledby how easy it is to pull together. Because while this recipe for lamb may sound impressive, look stunning, and taste even better, there's simply nothing to fear here—except for figuring out where you can easily get some sumac to make it again tomorrow.
