We eat lots of lamb here in the UK and it always surprises me that in North America it hardly seems to feature at all. But sheep farming is a traditional way of life here, especially in the exposed hilly regions of Wales and the far north of England, and lamb is essential to our food heritage.

Most species of mint are perfectly safe for dogs to eat in small amounts, including human favourites peppermint and spearmint. These plants are generally non-toxic to canines, but if they are eaten in large doses they can cause illness, so it’s still best to only feed them to your dog sparingly.Of course, lamb (or goat) is also key to the food of the Eastern Mediterranean and the Indian subcontinent, so it fills our imported takeaway menus too. There, the mint sauce is made with yogurt and chilli rather than vinegar, but we still can’t get enough of it! Mint Sauce Recipe – Ingredients Once past its first flush of youth, lamb responds well to long slow cooking which tenderises and brings out the flavour. Use fall-fat milk. Or half-and-half or heavy cream! The higher the fat content, the creamier the shake.

Pour the cooked custard through the sieve and into a clean bowl to remove any bits of cooked egg that may be in it. Use regular ingredients, not the fancy versions – common garden mint, and regular granulated sugar. ICE CREAM MAKER – An inexpensive freezer bowl ice cream machine will be perfect for the average cook/baker. I have used & recommend this Cuisinart model. If you do constantly make ice cream in summer, then I would recommend investing in an ice cream maker with a built in compressor. These machines do not require to be pre-chilled and you can make many batches of ice cream over and over again. I currently own, and recommend this Cuisinart model. With a ladle, slowly drizzle some of the hot cream into the egg yolks. Whisk while you pour to avoid cooking the eggs. I served my homemade mint ice-cream in these cute little chocolate cups, but is just as good in a cone/cornet with some chocolate chips scattered on top.Fresh Mint – You want regular common garden mint ( mentha spicata) for this, not fierce peppermint or the fancy varieties that are supposed to taste of chocolate or pineapple. There are lots of subspecies so don’t worry if your garden mint looks darker and pointier than mine! Pulse in your mix-ins. You want the milkshake to be creamy with larger chunks of mix-ins. If you blend in the mix-ins instead of pulse them in, they may become too small and make the milkshake gritty instead of creamy. Additionally, peppermints use peppermint oil for flavour, and this highly concentrated flavouring is more likely to upset a dog’s stomach compared to fresh mint. Not to mention, these small, hard sweets can be a choking hazard for little dogs like Yorkies. The end result is light and slightly icy like sorbet, but as sweet and satisfying as gelato. The mint flavor tastes like the real deal, because it is. For once, I recommend against topping this dessert with chocolate. It overwhelms the flavor.

Strain the mixture through a sieve into a bowl, pressing to get all the goodness out. (Discard the contents of the sieve.) Prepare your ice cream freezer according to it’s directions. If you need to put the machine’s container in the freezer, make sure to do that the day before you are planning to churn the ice cream.Trim off any dark spots. A pair of kitchen scissors are handy for getting any dark or dried out spots off of the fresh leaves. A high powered blender is going to be your best bet for making a milkshake – you just can’t beat the consistency the blender achieves.