Instead if a Friday Feast of Fun, the opportunity to cover an Easter Sunday Lunch was just too mouth-wateringly good to pass up. Frankly, we prefer it to Christmas. It’s less boozy, the food’s lighter with less compulsory extras like puddings and unwanted family members, to name but two, and of course the weather’s better. There’ll be more about why we like Easter in the next blog. In the meantime here are our tips for a very special easter lunch, absolutely in the English style.

Pre dinner drinks: Easter is the time at which it is at last legal and permitted to break out the Pimms, that quintessential English cocktail mixer. Here is our recipe (for one person)from an old blog in 2021, but it works just as well today

Take one measure of Pimm’s No.1 Cup and and add to a highball glass. (Ours have real Pimms logos!) Add 3-4 ice cubes, then 2 slices of lemon, two slices of orange and one chopped strawberry and one slice of cucumber. Top up with lemonade and decorate with a sprig of mint or borage, if you can find the latter.

Entreé We always recommend going light and simple. Salmon or trout, cold with a few olives are good options. For the fish allergic, a nice cold cured meat, perhaps an Iberian Ham or French Saucisson go down well and can sit alongside the Pimms, if you don’t want to sozzle your guests with an early white wine.

Main Course We have been known to serve chicken, and to have served it well. But in these islands Lamb is the traditional centre piece for Easter Sunday. Roast that is, and served up with potatoes and the best spring vegetables. For years we swore by leg. It’s a great joint, and can be made to work more if you have a large number of guests. But once, a little financially embarrassed in Waitrose in Kingston Upon Thames we took the advice of their Meat Man, and tried shoulder, which in theory is the cheaper cut. Frankly, we have never looked back-there are extra levels of flavour and texture which even the best shoulders struggle to match. So to be fair, here are two recipes, both from the BBC which will give you more than a fighting chance of turning out a really memorable experience for your guests

Leg: Mike Robinson https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/roastlegoflambwithga_90252

Shoulder: Mary Berry https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/slow_roast_shoulder_lamb_92930

Dessert We could write three blogs here, and that’s only on what’s available from the supermarket. If you’ve treated them well with the first courses, your guests may not want too much. Something to do with strawberries, raspberries and cream might suffice, backed with a range of strong, simple cheeses. Dare we put in a word for some of our rarer British specials like Lancashire, Caerphilly, Wensleydale and Double Gloucester?

Wine At least, on to the serious part of the blog. So-Red, or White? Fortunately we have found a great site called Unravelling Wine, where you can weigh a range of possibilities-Rioja, Chianti, Bordeaux, they seem to have thought of every possible pairing, with all the tasting notes you’ll need. https://unravelingwine.com/lamb-wine-pairing/

Post Prandial Liqueurs The usual. Brandy. Port. Madeira. Strong Coffee. You know the sort of thing. If you have done your work well, your guests should not be too fussy by this stage.

Well, gentle readers we hope that is enough, and more than enough, to ensure that you, your family, your guests and your servants enjoy a real easter blow-out. It was fun writing it, because being on the most savage diet, we are unable to sample any of the delicacies above, even cursorily. But we used to; and that was fun too, while it lasted.

#roast dinner #easter #food #wine