Roast Leg of Spring Lamb with Sea Salt and Mint Sauce
Several weeks ago we put a batch of fertile eggs into the incubator, plugged it in and hoped for the best. Both students and grandchildren were agog with anticipation. Twenty-one days later we heard faint cheeping and eventually a few damp little chicks pecked their way out of the eggs. After several hours they fluff up and get perky enough to be moved out under the infra-red lamp in the Palais des Poulet.
After a few weeks they will grow pin feathers and eventually proper plumage. We’ll have to wait and see which grow little tails, those will turn into fine cockerels and the others will mature into hens. We’ll fatten up the cockerels for the pot and the hens will keep us supplied with beautiful fresh eggs.
We’ve just made and iced a lovely Simnel cake for Easter. I’ve topped it with 11 balls of marzipan to represent 11 of the 12 apostles. Judas doesn’t make it to the top of the cake for obvious reasons.
For Easter Sunday lunch, of course it’s Spring lamb, sweet, succulent and tender, it needs no further embellishment. Just roast it in a moderate oven with a few flakes of sea salt sprinkled over the top. Serve it with fresh mint sauce, lots of roast potatoes and the first Irish asparagus or sea kale.
For dessert I am including this delicious rhubarb crumble tart.
Young Spring lamb is sweet and succulent and needs absolutely no embellishment apart from a dusting of salt and pepper and a little fresh mint sauce — made from the first tender sprigs of mint from the cold frame in the kitchen garden.
Follow it with rhubarb crumble made with the first pink spears of the season. For me this is the quintessential taste of Easter.
If possible ask your butcher to remove the aitch bone from the top of the leg of lamb so that it will be easier to carve later, then trim the knuckle end of the leg. Season the skin with salt and freshly ground pepper. Put into a roasting tin.
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Roast for 1-1¼ hours approximately for rare, 1¼ –1½ hours for medium and 1½-1¾ hours for well done, depending on size.
When the lamb is cooked to your taste, remove the joint to a carving dish. Rest the lamb for 10 minutes before carving.
Meanwhile make the gravy. Degrease the juices in the roasting tin and add stock. Bring to the boil and whisk in a little roux to thicken slightly.
Taste and allow to bubble up until the flavour is concentrated enough. Correct the seasoning and serve hot with the lamb, roast spring onions and lots of crusty roast potatoes.
Mint sauce is easy peasy to make — it takes only minutes. For those who are expecting a bright green jelly, real mint sauce has a slightly dull colour and watery texture but tastes fresh and delicious. Makes about 175ml (6fl oz);
Put the freshly chopped mint and sugar into a sauce boat. Add the boiling water and vinegar or lemon juice. Allow to infuse for 5–10 minutes, before serving.
Preheat oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4.
First make the pastry: Sieve the flour and sugar into a bowl, cut the butter into cubes and rub into the flour with the fingertips. Keep everything as cool as possible; if the fat is allowed to melt the finished pastry may be tough. When the mixture looks like coarse breadcrumbs, stop.
Whisk the egg. Take a fork or knife (whichever you feel most comfortable with) and add just enough liquid to bring the pastry together, then discard the fork and collect the pastry into a ball with your hands. This way you can judge more accurately if you need a few more drops of liquid. Although slightly damp pastry is easier to handle and roll out, the resulting crust can be tough and may well shrink out of shape as the water evaporates in the oven.
The drier and more difficult-to-handle pastry will give a crisper, ‘shorter’ crust. Cover and rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Line the tart or tartlet tins with pastry. Chill. Bake blind in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes approximately until the pastry is three quarters cooked, remove from the oven. Take out the baking beans, brush with beaten egg wash and place back in the oven for another 5 minutes. Allow to cool.
Fill with chopped rhubarb and sprinkle generously with 75-110g (3-4oz) sugar before adding the crumble topping. Next make the crumble: Rub the butter into the flour and sugar to make a coarse crumble. Add chopped almonds. Spread the crumble over the top of the rhubarb. Bake in a preheated oven 180C/350F/ regulo 4 until fully cooked – 45-50 minutes.
Serve warm or cold with a bowl of softly whipped cream.
Simnel Cake is a traditional Easter cake. It has a layer of almond paste baked into the centre and a thick layer of almond icing on top. The 11 balls represent 11 of the 12 apostles — Judas is missing because he betrayed Jesus.
Line the base and sides of a 9 inch (23cm) round, or a 8 inch (20.5cm) square tin with brown paper and greaseproof paper.
Wash the cherries and dry them. Cut in two or four as desired. Blanch the almonds in boiling water for 1-2 minutes, rub off the skins and chop them finely. Mix the dried fruit, nuts, ground almonds and grated orange and lemon rind. Add about half of the whiskey and leave for 1 hour to macerate.
Next make the almond paste. Sieve the castor sugar and mix with the ground almonds. Beat the eggs, add the whiskey and 1 drop of pure almond essence, then add to the other ingredients and mix to a stiff paste. (You may not need all the egg.) Sprinkle the work top with icing sugar, turn out the almond paste and work lightly until smooth.
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/regulo 4. Cream the butter until very soft, add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Whisk the eggs and add in bit by bit, beating well between each addition so that the mixture doesn’t curdle. Mix the spice with the flour and stir in gently. Add the grated apple to the fruit and mix in gently but thoroughly (don’t beat the mixture again or you will toughen the cake).
Put half of the cake mixture into the prepared tin, roll about half of the almond paste into an 8 ½ inch (21.5cm) round. Place this on top of the cake mixture in the tin and cover with the remaining mixture. Make a slight hollow in the centre, dip your hand in water and pat it over the surface of the cake: this will ensure that the top is smooth when cooked. Cover the top with a single sheet of brown paper.
Put into the preheated oven; reduce the heat to 160°C/325°F/regulo 3 after 1 hour. Bake until cooked, 3 — 3½ hours approx., test in the centre with a skewer — it should come out completely clean. Pour the rest of the whiskey over the cake and leave to cool in the tin. NOTE: When you are testing do so at an angle because the almond paste can give a false reading.
Next day remove the cake from the tin. Do not remove the lining paper but wrap in some extra greaseproof paper and tin foil until required.
When you wish to ice the cake, roll the remainder of the almond paste into a 9 inch (23cm) round. Brush the cake with a little lightly beaten egg white and top with the almond paste. Roll the remainder of the paste into 11 balls. Score the top of the cake in 1 1/ 2 inch (4cm) squares or diamonds. Brush with beaten egg yolk; stick the ‘apostles’ around the outer edge of the top, brush with beaten egg. Toast in a preheated oven 220°C/425°F/regulo 7, for 15-20 minutes or until slightly golden. Decorate with an Easter chicken. Cut while warm or store for several weeks when cold. NB: Almond paste may also be used to ice the side of the cake. You will need half the almond paste again.
This cake keeps for weeks or even months, but while still delicious it changes both in texture and flavour as it matures.
Growing Unusual Vegetables with Klaus Laitenberger at The Organic Centre in Rossinver on Saturday, April 26. Klaus will concentrate on Kohlrabi, Scorzonera, etc. Price: €65; www.theorganiccentre.ie
The 8th Burren Slow Food Festival from Friday, May 23 to Sunday, May 25, takes place at the Pavilion Theatre Complex, Lisdoonvarna, Co Clare.
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