Midweek Meals: Five ideas for Easter dinner — and an eggs-cellent dessert

Make the most of seasonal ingredients and leftovers with these recipe ideas

Easter dinner ideas - and an eggs-cellent dessert

Slow roast shoulder of spring lamb with wild garlic aioli and fresh mint chutney

recipe by:Darina Allen

When wild garlic is not in season, double the quantity of parsley, it will still be delicious

Servings

10

Preparation Time

 20 mins

Cooking Time

 3 hours 0 mins

Total Time

 3 hours 20 mins

Course

 Main

Cuisine

 Irish

Ingredients

• 1 whole shoulder of spring lamb on the bone, weighing approximately 3.6kg (8lb)

• Maldon sea salt and freshly-ground pepper

• For the aioli:

• Homemade mayo or good quality mayonnaise

• 1-4 cloves of garlic, depending on size

• 2 teaspoons chopped parsley

• 2 teaspoons chopped wild garlic leaves (Allium ursinum)

• 4 -6 tablespoons lamb cooking juices

• For the chutney:

• 1 large cooking apple (we use Grenadier or Bramley Seedling), peeled and cored

• a large handful of fresh mint leaves, Spearmint or Bowles mint

• 50g (2oz) onions

• 20-50g (1-2oz) castor sugar (depending on tartness of apple)

• salt and cayenne pepper

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4.

2. Place the lamb shoulder in a wide roasting tin or oven tray with the skin side up. Score the skin to encourage the fat to run out during the cooking and to crisp up the skin. Season with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper. Place in a roasting tin, transfer to the oven and roast for 30 minutes before turning the temperature down to 160°C/325F/Gas Mark 3 for a further 2 ½ to 3 hours or until the meat is soft and succulent and will lift off the bones.

3. Mix the crushed garlic  into the mayonnaise for the aioli. Finally add the chopped parsley and wild garlic. Taste for seasoning and correct if necessary.

4. Next make the fresh mint chutney. Whizz all the ingredients in a food processor, season with salt and a little cayenne pepper. Cover and keep cool.

5. To test if the lamb is cooked to a melting tenderness, pull the shank bone and it and some of the meat should come away easily from the bone.

6. When the lamb is cooked, remove from the oven. There will be plenty of fatty cooking juices. Strain these through a sieve into a bowl. Keep the lamb warm in the oven with the temperature reduced to 100°C/200°F/Gas Mark ¼.

7. When the fat has risen to the surface of the lamb cooking juices, skim carefully and thoroughly with a spoon.

8. Thin out the garlic mayonnaise with 4-6 tablespoons of the degreased juice to achieve a consistency similar to softly whipped cream or in other words the mayonnaise should now just lightly coat the back of a spoon. Taste and correct the seasoning.

9. Bring the remaining juices to a simmer and taste and correct seasoning.

10. To serve the lamb, a tongs or serving fork and spoon are the best implements to remove the meat from the bones. Prise largish pieces off the bones and serve on hot plates with some of the hot cooking juices, aoili and the chutney drizzled over the top…

Shepherd’s pie

When cooking your Easter roast lamb this year double up on your vegetables. This way you can use the leftovers for a low-energy second meal the following day.

Servings

6

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 30 mins

Total Time

 40 mins

Course

 Main

Cuisine

 Irish

Ingredients

• Leftover roast lamb, shredded

• Cooked carrots and cabbage, chopped into bite-sized pieces

• Any other cooked vegetables you have to hand or failing that handfuls of frozen peas and sweetcorn

• 400ml gravy

• 8 potatoes worth of mash

Method

1. Take a large roasting dish and place the lamb at the bottom along with chopped vegetables. Pour the gravy on top and stir well so that everything is coated.

2. Spoon the fluffy mash over the mixture and spread out to the edges. Use a fork to ruffle the surface. For maximum crispy bits dot with knobs of butter before roasting in the oven at 180ºC for 30 minutes (until cooked through).
   
   Note: If you assemble this meal it will keep in the freezer for up to two months if well wrapped. That’s a night off the cooking in the future.