Eastern delights
Add a dash of Middle Eastern magic to your Easter celebrations, with delicious spring lamb, braised beef rib and a tasty salad
If you’re looking for some inspiration for what to cook for the Easter weekend then here are some springy ideas. If you’re a traditionalist and love enjoying the first of the new season’s lamb then there’s a delicious olive and anchovy tapenade recipe, right, that is just made for spring lamb. Whether it’s a roast leg or a slow-roasted shoulder of lamb for feeding a crowd or a few chops for one or two people then this sauce will complement the meat perfectly. It works really well with roast root vegetables and a creamy mash too.
If you’re not going for Easter lamb but still want something meaty then this braised short beef rib recipe, overleaf, won’t disappoint. Big and hearty with delicious flavours, this is a recipe that our friend Mary Jo McMillin makes whenever she visits us from the US. It’s so handy to make 24 hours in advance and indeed will only improve if reheated the next day. Serve it with or without the bones in the dish, they’ll separate from the meat in the long slow cook. Speaking of which, this works a treat in a slow cooker.
I love the flavoursome chew that comes with freekeh, the cracked wheat that’s picked when green before being roasted and lightly smoked. It’s delicious as a base for a substantial salad and in this recipe, opposite, that we make at the cookery school, it’s accompanied by cauliflower and avocado and is scattered with pistachios and pomegranate seeds.
The recipe called for natural yoghurt or for labneh — a thick dripped yoghurt also called a yoghurt cheese in the Middle East. See Rachel Recommends, right, on how to make it.
If you wish, you can roast the florets of cauliflower rather than serving them raw and thinly sliced. Just toss in a little olive oil with some seasoning of salt and pepper and cook in a hot oven for about 10 to 15 minutes until almost tender and a bit golden.
To remove the stones from the olives just place the olives on a chopping board and bash with the base of a saucepan or the flat side of a knife, freeing the stones.