After months of being cooped up cooking indoors, it’s no surprise that Mark Sargeant, restaurant owner and a former head chef for Gordon Ramsay, is pleased that spring has finally sprung.

As well as the promise of leeks, beans and asparagus, the Kent-based foodie, who was seen on the first series of ITV reality cooking show Hell’s Kitchen with his fiery old boss Ramsay, is looking forward to tucking into a succulent lamb lunch with his family this Easter – and, if the weather permits, eating it outside.

And while Sargeant loves serving up a traditional roast with all the trimmings, he’s hoping that the promise of new season lamb will encourage more of us to cook the meat regularly, and try some different recipes with it.

If you fancy trying some new twists on lamb classics, here’s Sargeant’s tagine recipe he created for the Simply Beef & Lamb campaign, encouraging us to be more adventurous.

LAMB TAGINE WITH POMEGRANATES (Serves 6)

675g lean boneless lamb shoulder, cut into cubes 2tbsp oil 3 large shallots or 1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped 2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed 2tsp ground ginger 1/4tsp ground turmeric 1/4tsp sweet paprika Salt and black pepper Pinch of saffron threads 450ml hot water 1 cinnamon stick 2 sprigs fresh thyme 3-4 dried apricots, roughly chopped 3tbsp freshly chopped coriander 2tbsp fresh pomegranate seeds Rice or couscous, to serve Heat the oil in a large, three-pint-deep ovenproof dish and add the onions, ginger, turmeric, paprika and seasoning. Cook over a low heat for one to two minutes.

Add the meat and garlic, coat in the flavoured oil and cook for four to six minutes until brown all over.

Add the saffron and water. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for two hours. The tagine will take about two hours and ten minutes to cook.

Add the cinnamon stick, thyme, apricots and coriander 20 minutes before the end of the cooking time (so around an hour and 50 minutes into cooking). Cover and continue to cook for the remainder of the cooking time (20 minutes).

Remove the thyme and cinnamon stick from the tagine. Garnish with the pomegranate seeds and serve with steamed couscous or rice.