I really feel Christmas is still lurking around, especially when I spot the odd decoration heroically hanging about some of the nooks and crannies of my house. It is as if these escapees, once so cheerful and celebratory, prefer the ignominy of irrelevance and the dust-dimming of sparkle to re-confinement in the darkness of the attic box. Or so it seems. In passing I tell them their days are numbered. The dust is making me sneeze, and besides, I promise a big welcome to their re-entry come the season.

That season is not now and already the long-eared usurper has claimed pole-position. That wretched bunny actually pushed its deceptively innocent little tail into the frame very early on. Poor Santa surely had not yet taken his boots off before the rabbit was depositing eggs all over supermarket shelves. It’s at a bit of a peak now, which tells me Easter is surely closing in. The point being is that if I were an alien from another planet, I would think Easter basically means chocolate rabbits and chocolate eggs. A good choice if you are a chocolate fan in that rabbits are prolific reproducers, and a bad choice if you actually like good chocolate because rarely is the egg or bunny version anything other than a very ordinary chocolate ‘rip-off’.

I could take the high road and decry the rank commercialism of the whole shebang, and I could contrast the hedonism of the event to the real and horrific conditions in many, many countries, but I see both sides as pretty reasonable arguments. My default position right now is to focus upon what I love most –preparing and sharing food with others. To rattle those pots and pans. Perforce, family cannot be here, but friends are, and I’ll concentrate not upon those I am missing, but upon those I am blessed already to have available to me.

The general gist of things (all recipes follow)

Easter is about eggs, if you don’t get bogged down in the argument about which comes first, the chicken or the egg. I could look at a gentle salad topped with a soft-boiled egg but I am thinking Mum’s classic ‘Caviar Tart’ to be served with drinks (an icy champagne or appropriate white wine) instead of a sit-down starter. This is a tasty, easy recipe that functions well with some crispy fine toasts.

Easter food often means lamb, spring lamb. In reality the lamb was most unlikely to be born in lush spring pastures, so I’ll be looking at some options. Some farm-fresh, free-range chicken to follow the egg theme would be good, as would dear little quail. By their very size, they seem newborns. I’ll also consider a lamb recipe of mine that rather shocked me with its success.

Celebrations such as Easter require the simplicity, yet abundance of big bowls of easy to prep-ahead dishes. Enjoyment is the key, and quite frankly I lose a fair bit of the enjoyment factor if I have to fiddle over either ‘preps’ or ‘presentation’. So I’ll throw a coin to choose between the truly delicious Chicken Legs with Vino Cotto or Balsamic, and my Roasted and Braised Shoulder of Lamb. Both can be served in their cooking dish plonked onto the table, maybe gussied up a bit with a few snips of green.

Because the weather is un-biddable, If I am doing the Chicken dish I’ll add a lovely deep dish of Gratin of White Beans –a wicked and yummy combo of cannellini beans (easy from a tin), cream, garlic, parmesan, thyme. All prepped ahead and popped into the oven last minute. The lamb dish has beans already so I would choose maybe a lovely potato gratin instead.

Easter means green so I’ll add a big bowl of greens – I’m thinking Rocket/Rucola, little chunks of pan-fried speck or strips of prosciutto.

Easter means flowers. Forget the formal. I’ll go for a table set with little jars or vases with various small bunches of flowers. The more the merrier.

Easter means chocolate. I could do the chocolate desert thing but I’d rather be a bit selective and avoid overkill. For desert, I will do my favourite Raspberry and Pinenut Cake. Big, not rich, and really delish. Finally, I get to the chocolate, so to go with coffees and general lolling about later in the day, I’ll have on hand a big box of Switzerland’s divine chocolate truffles.

THE RECIPES

Caviar Tart (or Egg Tart or any name you might like to give it)

Caviar might be ambitious for this simple tart – I’d use any fish roe but preferably Salmon Roe.

Double ingredients of for a big crowd.

6 eggs, hard-boiled

170g butter

1 carton of sour cream )I think maybe 200-300ml)

1 white onion, very finely chopped

1 large pot of fish roe.

Melt the butter then blend with the eggs in a food processor. Press into a spring-form tin. Stir the finely chopped onion into the sour cream, and spread this mixture on top. Place in the refrigerator for several hours to set. Before serving, remove from the tin and cover /dab over with the fish roe. Serve with fine toasts for guests to serve themselves as a spread.

Chicken Legs with Vino Cotto or Balsamic.

Can serve in pot it’s cooked in; also great next day served cold when juices have jellied. I use a big oblong casserole dish. You can use caperberries instead of capers but as they are a bit vinegary, use less & soak in cold water.

You will need……

8 good chicken marylands (thigh and leg joints), thighs & legs separated

Zest 2 lemons, removed in wide strips with vegetable peeler (reserve flesh for squeezing before serving)

5 fresh bay leaves

2 stalks rosemary

¼ stick cinnamon, ground, or ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

extra virgin oil, for drizzling

½ cup flaked almonds

40g unsalted butter

Sea salt

¼ cup Vino Cotto or a good balsamic vinegar

16 green olives

½ cup raisins

¼ cup salted capers, rinsed & drained

Chopped flat-leaf parsley to serve

METHOD

Marinate chicken with lemon zest, bay leaves, rosemary, cinnamon and a good splash of extra virgin oil for at least 1 hour before cooking; overnight is better if you have the time

Pre-heat fan-forced oven to 180.C

Place flaked almonds on baking tray and roast 5 minutes or until golden then set aside

Set oven to 200.C

Heat butter in large oven-proof frying pan over medium heat. Season chicken with salt, then remove from marinade. Working batches so as to not crowd the pan, gently pan fry chicken 8-10 minutes or until golden brown all over.

Transfer to oven and roast 10 minutes

Deglaze pan with Vino Cotto or balsamic over high heat, then add olives, raisins and capers

Return to oven for another 10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through

Toss over almonds and parsley, then squeeze over juice of at least 1 of the reserved lemons, taste and add more lemon juice, if needed

Leave to rest x 10 minutes, then serve

Fabulous Roasted & Braised Shoulder of Lamb

This recipe arose from a ‘tweaking’ a recipe of Jamie Oliver. These amounts comfortably feed 4 persons, although when doing it for 2 persons I simply use a ½ shoulder of lamb. Ditto –double if for 8.

You will need to make a Spice Mix It’s a wonderful kitchen ‘basic’ to keep on hand, and can be used for all sorts of delicious things.

Grind together 1 teaspoon each of Cumin seeds; Coriander seeds; Fennel seeds; black peppercorns; Maldon sea salt. Stir in 1 teaspoon Preserved Lemon puree (just make it mashy if it is in whole pieces)

For the rest (a large shoulder of lamb and just about double the other ingredients if for 8 people):

1 shoulder of lamb

Rosemary sprigs

Spice and preserved lemon mix (see above)

400g tin haricot beans –nice large white ones

2 red onions, sliced

Handful of fresh lemon thyme

½ – 1 cinnamon stick

About 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1-2 lemons (depending upon quantities of lamb used)

METHOD

Pre-heat oven to 220.C

Score the lamb surface on top with a criss-cross pattern and rub in the spice and lemon mix. Poke small sprigs of rosemary leaves into the criss-cross centres.

Roast lamb for about 50 mins for a ½ shoulder (a 2kg shoulder would take about 2 hours. But it depends upon your oven and use your instincts here because you don’t want it to cook itself to death or burn).

While the lamb is roasting, sauté the onion slices in olive oil together with the lemon thyme and cinnamon stick. Add a pinch of pepper andsalt

Add the beans and balsamic vinegar and put the mixture aside.

Remove the lamb from the oven and reduce the temperature to 200.C. Stir in the onion/bean mix and juices well into the lamb juices in the pan, and toss in the lemon quarters. Add some stock

Return to the oven for about 1 hour.

Gratin of White Beans This recipe can be prepared well in advance and ready to pop in the oven about ½ hour before you wish to eat. If you have placed it in the refrigerator (if prepared some hours before), just remove it about 1 hour before so that it regains room temperature before cooking. No crisis if you forget –just cook it longer!

This recipe can be prepared well in advance and ready to pop in the oven about ½ hour before you wish to eat. If you have placed it in the refrigerator (if prepared some hours before), just remove it about 1 hour before so that it regains room temperature before cooking. No crisis if you forget –just cook it longer!

Double the recipe if for a crowd.

You will need:

400 g beans (I use tinned beans, rinsed well and drained)

500ml double cream or crème fraiche (I will usually use a low fat such as a lower-fat crème fraiche)

2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed. I use nice big fat ones.

Bunch of Thyme –leaves only

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

100g fresh white bread crumbs

100g freshly grated Parmesan Cheese (I think I used a bit less but just judge yourself)

40g butter (melted)

METHOD

Pre-heat oven to 200.C

Place beans in a bowl
Pout over the cream /crème fraiche and scatter over the garlic and thyme leaves
Season generously with salt & pepper, mix everything around gently and transfer to a medium sized ovenproof dish
For the Topping: in a clean bowl, using your fingers, mix together the breadcrumbs and parmesan.
Sprinkle the crumble over the beans and trickle over the melted butter
Bake on middle shelf about 25 minutes or until golden brown and bubbling.

Raspberry and Pinenut Cake

Adapted from: Gourmet Traveller Dec 02

Can be prepared in advance and will keep in fridge in airtight container for 3 days. Good big size, and suitable for all events –eg a casual festive lunch, friends for BBQ etc. You could use other fruits or raspberries out of season –something tartish & flavoursome I’d say, like ripe plums or blackberries. I think strawberries would be too bland, & other fruits not bitey enough. This is one recipe where I’d really suggest you prepare/set out all ingredients in advance.

You will need for the Cake

150g 1 cup) SR flour (SR means Self-Raising. Add raising agents to plain flour as a substitute)

75g (1/2 cup) plain flour

90g (3/4 cup) ground almonds

150g butter, unsalted, chopped

220g castor (sucre finissimo) sugar

4 eggs

90g pinenuts (Put 30g of these into a separate pile)

Grated rind and juice 1 lemon

360g raspberries (Put 240g of these into a separate pile)

140g raspberry jam, warmed with 1 tab water

Topping:

200g brown sugar

40g plain flour

80g cold butter, unsalted, chopped

Yogurt Cream

300ml thickened cream

150ml greek-style yoghurt

55g (1/4 cup) sifted icing sugar

METHOD

Make Topping

Combine brown sugar & flour in bowl or Food processor & rub in cold butter cubes until it’s like breadcrumbs. Set it aside

Prepare cake

Grease and line base of 22cm springform tin

Heat even to 190.C

Sift together flours, ground almonds and ½ teasp salt

In another bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy

Then add eggs 1 at a time (beating in between)

Stir in flour mixture and 30g of the pinenuts, + the grated lemon rind & juice, & combine well. The mixture will be quite stiff.

Spoon into prepared tin and bake x 40 mins

Then…

Reduce oven to 160.C

Working quickly, sprinkle topping over cake and scatter with 240g of the raspberries

Return cake to oven and cook for another 20 mins, or until cake tester withdraws clear

Remove cake, drizzle with warm raspberry jam and press remaining raspberries into the jam, & scatter over the rest of the pinenuts

Release cake tin from sides and place on wire rack to cool

Serve with Yoghurt cream

Make yoghurt cream

Wisk ingredients together until soft peaks are formed