Easter Lunch

For the first time ever, housemate and I decided to have friends over for Easter lunch and I abandoned my plant-based eating for a day and decided on lamb. I'm actually a bit nervous about cooking big joints - it's not my area of expertise and I stress about it getting overcooked but thanks to Jamie Oliver's instruction I ended up feeling pretty proud of myself! Plus a food delivery disaster meant we didn't get the lamb shoulder I'd planned to slow roast so it ended up being a fast-roast leg sourced by Kim on Sunday morning! Thank you Parsons Green farmers market for still being open.

I think these quantities serve 5-6 people depending on appetite and greed.

Easy Roast Leg of Lamb
(This is inspired by a Jamie Oliver recipe I found online)

2kg outdoor reared leg of lamb (best you can buy will turn out nicest)
3 garlic cloves
olive oil
zest of 1 lemon
8 medium sprigs rosemary
salt and pepper

slug of red wine
lamb stock cube

1. Crush the garlic cloves and finely chops the leaves of half the rosemary.
2. Zest the lemon and stir it all together with enough olive oil to make a paste.
3. Put the lamb in a roasting tray with the rest of the rosemary.
4. Make lots of tiny slits all over the lamb (or stab repeatedly!) and season with salt and pepper.
5. Rub in the herb paste and roast at 200c for 1hr15.
6. Cover and rest for 15 minutes.
7. Once the lamb is resting, add some water to the roasting tray and scrape off all the yummy goodness stuck to the bottom. Then decant to a pan, add wine (about half a glass) and a stock cube and boil to reduce.
8. Thicken with a tiny bit of cornflour if you like then sieve into a jug.
9. Drain juices from resting lamb into gravy then slice up and serve.

It might look underdone but have faith and do not cook any longer if you like it pink. You'll be surprised how much more it cooks during the resting time - mine ended up resting for too long as the potatoes weren't done. I was amazed at how much juice etc was produced for a gravy - also not one of my culinary skills but with a friend's help it was surprisingly easy to make a good one!


Crispy Layered Thyme Potatoes
(based on a James Martin recipe that was in my Good Food magazine for March)

2kg white potatoes
140g butter or vegan alternative
100ml vegetable stock
small pack thyme
rock salt & pepper

1. Slice the potatoes finely using a mandolin or the best you can do by hand.
2. Rinse in cold water then dry on tea towels and put into a large bowl.
3. Melt the butter and pour over potatoes, mix thoroughly to coat. 
4. Add the leaves from the thyme plus some salt and toss again.
5. Using a roasting tin or dish measuring approx 20cmx20cm, layer the potatoes vertically like a deck of cards - they should fit tightly.
6. Pour over the stock and season again with both salt and pepper.
7. Cook at 200c for an hour or until cooked - for my over it was about 1hr15 - cover with foil if it starts burning before the potatoes are soft, as you can see mine did!


Spring Vegetables with Salsa Verde
(my brain and Jamie's salsa)

1 bunch fresh tarragon
1 bunch fresh mint
2 anchovy fillets (omit for a vegetarian version)
1 tbsp cornichons
1 tbsp capers
1 heaped tsp dijon mustard (or vegan alternative)
1 clove of garlic, peeled
1 tbsp cider vinegar
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

175g babycorn
175g baby leeks
175g baby courgettes
250g baby carrots
200g asparagus
200g frozen peas
150g broad beans
(any vegetables you like are fine, this is just approximately what I used)
50-100ml vegetable stock

1. Blend all the salsa verde ingredients in a food processor until they form a sauce. Taste and add seasoning/more oil/whatever you think it needs. Chill until needed.
2. Trim the leeks and halve the carrots and courgettes lengthways.
3. Heat a splash of olive oil in a deep frying pan and add the leeks and courgettes.
4. Add the stock and cook for a couple of minutes - I like braising them like this for great flavour plus it's really easy.
5. Add the rest of the fresh and frozen vegetables and cook for about 5 minutes without the lid on, stirring occasionally. By this point the stock should have mostly been absorbed - you don't want liquid left so don't use too much.
6. Stir in a couple of tablespoons of salsa verde (according to your taste) and tip into a large bowl for serving. This sauce is also great on other meats and fish.

I'm not a big fan of a traditional roast (too labour intensive and last-minute) and for me this lunch feels special but is pretty easy to produce. Lots of herbs and vegetables have a really lovely spring-y feel and flavour. I love the tarragon version of salsa verde as I'm not so keen on parsley and it jazzes up anything to make it taste amazing. It keeps in the fridge for probably about a week - can't be sure as I've never had any left that long.

Happy Easter!