Few cooking traditions embrace lamb as much as Greek. Fresh herbs, tomatoes, and plentiful garlic make this lovely baked entrée taste uniquely Mediterranean. This dish is similar to moussaka, but with orzo pasta instead of rice.

Lamb has a stronger flavour than other meats, so a small amount goes a long way. This hearty one-dish meal has more vegetables than meat, but the taste of lamb bursts through in every bite.

Baked lamb is great. In this tasty dish, minced lamb is mixed with all sorts of lovely flavorings, then baked inside zucchini.

This pasta dish has substance, but lightness too, as it is built on lean rabbit and stock and brightened with peas. That makes it a perfect dish for a cool early summer evening. And as most of the work can be done well ahead of time, it makes a perfect meal for the first night of a cottage weekend.

This is my version of shepherd’s pie. I thought it would be cool to make this dish into an actual pie, since the original can be a bit of a one-trick pony as far as texture is concerned. I decided to make mine with pork instead of the traditional beef just because I like pork more, but feel free to use beef or lamb. The addition of the sweetbreads, bacon and foie gras is really to gild the lily and push the dish into meat juggernaut mode.

– Chef Derek Dammann (Executive chef of Montreal’s Plateau gastropub Maison Publique, which he co-owns with Jamie Oliver).

At my restaurant Garde Manger we have a staff meal every night, and we all sit down together before the restaurant opens. The vegetarians sometimes used to get a rough deal, so this is one of the recipes I made with them in mind.

By using lentils instead of meat, you can pack in a good amount of protein and give the dish a heartiness that both meat eaters and non-meat eaters really enjoy. The ketchup on the side is a Quebec classic-all good Quebecois grandmothers make homemade fruit ketchup in the fall and it goes perfectly with shepherd’s pie.

Number of servings : 6 Prep time: Cooking time: Ready in 50 min Type of meal : | Main Courses