April 2023

Life is ‘all go’ at the moment… I’ve just said ‘arrivederci’ to Italy (Padova was great!) and now I’m welcoming in April, which means not only Easter but also my birthday (and a cheeky escape to sunnier climes!). So I would be lying if I told you my kitchen is a hub of activity right now – there haven’t been many recipes being tried and tested, instead, I’ve been cooking some old easy and reliable favourites such as Chicken Tarragon pie, Vietnamese Lemon Grass & Chilli Chicken and ‘Everday Bolognese Sauce’ (click and scroll for recipes). Despite this relaxed mood, I have been thinking of what to share this April and as it’s both spring and Easter, I thought that lamb really should be on the menu. There are actually two lamb recipes which I’m keen to share with you. I’m sure like me you’re not wanting to spend your Easter bank holiday weekend slaving away in the kitchen, fortunately, both of these dishes are effortless and good enough to put on your celebratory dinner table. I’m also sharing an easy vegetarian option for a casual supper or a side for that Easter celebration!…

So, drum roll please for this month’s recipes…!

Menu One, ‘Fillet of Lamb with Cream & Spinach Sauce’, is made with the premium cut of lamb, the cannon (or loin fillet) which is cut from the rack. You really can’t go wrong with this recipe, it’s served on a bed of flageolet and fine green beans with cherry tomatoes; it has bright flavours, perfect for a spring feast! Menu Two, ‘Roast Rack of Lamb with Fresh Apple & Mint Chutney’, is a simple but very tasty recipe from Rachel Allen’s cookbook ‘Coast’. With its fresh flavours, the apple & mint chutney is particularly good with the sweetness of spring lamb. Simply serve with ‘New Potatoes & Minty Herb Butter’ and green beans. Finally, Menu Three is ‘Roasted Squash, Crispy Lentils, Pomegranate & Dukkah’, it’s a fantastic vegetarian recipe from Rukmini Iyer’s cookbook ‘A Roasting Tin Around The World’. Not only does it taste wonderful, but it looks beautiful with its jewel-like colours!

(I’m taking a break next week … Menu Mistress will return Tuesday 18th April with a Tuesday Treat!)

Menu One

Fillet of Lamb with Cream & Spinach Sauce (Serves 4)

Made with the premium cut of lamb, the cannon (or loin fillet) which is cut from the rack, you really can’t go wrong with this recipe. It’s served on a bed of flageolet and fine green beans with cherry tomatoes and has bright flavours, perfect for a spring feast!

For the sauce:

2 tablespoons of dry vermouth

200ml chicken stock

250ml double cream

80g baby spinach

Juice of half a lemon

Sea salt and black pepper

For the lamb:

2 x 300g lamb loin fillets (cannon of lamb), trimmed

3 tablespoons olive oil

150g fine green beans, topped

30g butter

400g tinned flageolet beans, rinsed and drained

500g cherry tomatoes, quartered

Sea salt and black pepper

1. First of all make the sauce. Put the vermouth in a small pan and boil until reduced to half a tablespoon. Add the stock, bring to the boil and reduce to about 4 tablespoons. Pour in the cream and reduce again until slightly thickened and the liquid coats the back of the spoon. Shred the spinach leaves and add to the sauce and cook for about 30 seconds. Add the lemon juice and seasoning to taste and set aside.
2. Sprinkle the lamb with pepper and heat the oil in a frying pan. On a high heat, brown the fillets all over, then transfer to a roasting tin. Season with salt and cook in a preheated oven, 200’c fan, for 10 minutes. Remove, cover and keep warm for 10 minutes before serving.
3. Meanwhile, cook the fine beans until they are ‘al dente’, about 4 minutes, then rinse in cold water.
4. Melt the butter in a frying pan and add the flageolet beans and the tomatoes, cook until the tomatoes are slightly softened and the beans are heated through. Add the fine green beans and reheat.
5. Quickly reheat the sauce and cut the lamb into thick slices. Serve on a bed of the vegetables with the sauce spooned over.

Menu Two

Roast Rack of Lamb, Fresh Apple & Mint Chutney and Minty Herb New Potatoes (Serves 4-6)

A simple but very tasty recipe from Rachel Allen’s cookbook ‘Coast’. With its fresh flavours, the apple & mint chutney is particularly good with the sweetness of spring lamb. Simply serve with ‘New Potatoes & Minty Herb Butter’ (recipe below) and green beans.

2 racks of lamb

1 large cooking apple, peeled, cored and quartered

A large handful of fresh mint, leaves picked

50g onions, peeled and roughly chopped

20-50g caster sugar (depending on tartness of apples)

Pinch of cayenne pepper

Sea salt and black pepper

1. Score the fat of the racks into roughly 2-3cm squares of diamonds, making sure that you only cut through the fat, not the meat (you can ask your butcher to do this!). Sprinkle the fat with salt and pepper and place the racks on a roasting tray, fat side up.
2. Roast the racks for 25 minutes in a preheated oven, 220’c fan, (if you have a meat thermometer it should register 65-70’c). Rest for 5 minutes before carving.
3. Meanwhile, put the apple, mint, onions and sugar (to taste) in a food processor and whiz to combine – you want it to retain some ‘chunkiness’. Season with salt and cayenne pepper (and more sugar if needed)
4. Carve the lamb and serve 2-3 cutlets per person. Serve the chutney on the side.

New Potatoes with Minty Herb Butter (Serves 4)

500g new potatoes

25g butter, softened

½ tablespoon chopped mint, plus a few whole leaves

½ tablespoon chopped parsley

½ tablespoon chopped chives

Sea salt and black pepper

1. Halve any large potatoes and place in a large saucepan. Cover with boiling water, add a pinch of salt and a couple of mint leaves and simmer gently for about 20 minutes until tender.
2. Meanwhile, combine the butter and chopped herbs.
3. Drain the potatoes and return to the pan and add the herb butter, toss the potatoes so they are well coated. Season with salt and pepper.

Menu Three

Roasted Squash, Crispy Lentils, Pomegranate & Dukkah (Serves 4)

This is a fantastic vegetarian recipe from Rukmini Iyer’s cookbook ‘A Roasting Tin Around The World’. Not only does it taste wonderful, but it looks beautiful with its jewel-like colours!

600g butternut squash, cut into 1.5cm slices

1 red onion, cut into eighths

250g cherry tomatoes

1 x 400g tin brown lentils, drained and rinsed

1 teaspoon sea salt

2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 cloves of garlic, crushed

½ – 1 teaspoon chilli flakes (to taste)

2 tablespoons dukkah

A handful of pomegranate seeds

A handful of fresh mint, roughly chopped

Dressing:

100ml plain yogurt

2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses

1. Tip the squash, onion and tomatoes into a roasting tin large enough to hold everything in one layer, then mix through the lentils, salt, pomegranate molasses, oil, garlic and chilli flakes. Transfer to a preheated oven, 180’c fan, roast for 45-50 minutes, until the squash is cooked through.
2. Meanwhile, mix the yogurt and pomegranate molasses together, taste and season with a little salt as needed.
3. Drizzle the yogurt over the roasted veg, scatter over the dukkah, pomegranate seeds and mint and serve hot.