What To Cook: dinner ideas and recipes, quick and easy cakes, meat and vegetarian dishes
Easter is coming and it’s a non-holiday again. I’m still going to do a fair bit of baking, even though this time I’ll do rounds and drop off cakes on family and friends’ doorsteps.
So let’s begin, joyously, with cake. Perhaps not colomba di Pasqua, the Italian enterprise on par with Christmas’ panettone, but I’m tempted to bake a Simnel cake which I’ve not had for years. I might also make some lemon and pistachio bars, portions handy to give away, or a batch of either Somerset or Greek Easter biscuits apart from the obligatory hot cross buns (new recipe!).
If you’re looking to have a proper Easter Sunday dinner, just scaled down to your household, you could splash on new season lamb and prepare a gorgeous roast: shoulder is cheaper and easier to cook and a leg or half a leg makes a very fancy roast indeed. That could be served with crushed new potatoes and sauteed creamy leeks. For a vegetarian option consider mushroom and fondue filo pie served with coleslaw, or a mushroom risotto. Both are likely to tempt the meat eaters too!
I’ll be making my own crème eggs as I’ve decided the mini (the only size I can ever manage) Cadbury Crème Eggs have gone to pot. The chocolate is grainy and thick and the filling is scarce and dry. It’s definitely a slump in quality, so I’ll make my own and they’re going to be better and a fun thing to do. You could make some hollow eggs too, with your little ones, for the hunt: the moulds are available everywhere from Lakeland to Amazon. Have a good Easter!