learning to lamb

Despite the sheer amount of cheese in my refrigerator from my trip to the British Cheese Festival yesterday, I'm not using any for dinner tonight. Instead, lamb is on the menu. I will admit, lamb is not one of my preferred meats. I can count on one hand the number of times I have eaten it. But, as a thank you to my husband for driving me to said cheese festival yesterday, I will be cooking lamb.

(Oh, and there's the other reason - I have been reading about the gastronomic virtues of autumn lamb, which is evidently much tastier than the young spring meat - but I'll let my husband believe it is only the former point that tipped the scales in his favour.)

Truth be told, I am properly excited. As I cook, on average, 6.5 nights out of 7, it can feel as though I have lost that exhilirating feeling of experimentation. Gone are the days of learning simple techniques. What I am not saying is that I have learned everything - what I am saying is that some of my novice excitement has matured somewhat (a bit like the autumn lamb).

So tonight, full-on experimentation will be happening in my kitchen. I have yet to consult a cookery book for lamb - those pages in my recipe books are wholly untouched and not at all stuck together, unlike the fish section, glued together by repeated usage.

But knowing what I do about lamb, I know flavours earthy, sweet, and tangy work well. Here is what I'm thinking - sweet potatoes, chickpeas, rosemary, harissa paste. It has probably been done before, as it is quite a Mediterranean-inspired combination. I am flying blind here: wish me luck.