Spring Lamb Recipes by Rachel Allen – easy, delicious and perfect for Easter
The tradition of eating roast lamb on Easter Sunday in this part of the world dates back many centuries and involves many ancient pagan and Christian rituals and superstitions. It’s also the time of year when young lamb is at its sweetest and mildest in flavor, making it ideal for a springtime Sunday lunch.
When the animal gets older and turns into hogget and then mutton, then it’s time to slowly simmer it in big, hearty stews and casseroles, but at this time of year — and with the first spring lamb hitting the butcher shops — I love cooking it simple and serve with fresh, tangy sauces.
Any side dish with mint, red currants, apples, mustard, anchovies or capers is a winner and the perfect partner to the meat. Below are four of my favorite sauces to serve with roast or grilled lamb: a classic fresh mint sauce; a bright and colorful currant sauce; a delicious herb and anchovy salsa; and a really quick apple and mint chutney – which, by the way, also goes great with curries.
Roasted lamb shank is a classic and is often cooked with rosemary and garlic, but for a change I like to brush a paste of crushed cumin and coriander seeds with olive oil, freshly ground black pepper and a good sprinkling of sea salt flakes over the leg.
“Place the lamb on a roasting pan and rub the spice paste all over the leg, especially the top.” Photo: Tony Gavin
If you’re only cooking for 1 or 2 people, instead of roasting a leg of lamb, you might prefer to grill up some delicious, juicy little lamb chops, like in the recipe below. These go perfectly with the recipe with anchovy, olive and caper butter or one of the sauces presented here. Just make sure you preheat your grill pan or skillet really well so the outside of the chops get caramelized and divine.
Cumin and coriander roast lamb
6-8 servings
You will need:
1 generous tablespoon of cumin
1 generous tablespoon coriander seeds
1 whole leg of lamb or half a leg of lamb on the bone but with the sirloin bone removed – you can ask your butcher for this
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the sauce you need:
½ tablespoon flour
300 ml chicken broth or lamb broth
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
“If you’re only cooking for 1 or 2, you might not want to roast a leg of lamb and would rather grill up some tasty, juicy little lamb chops.” Photo: Tony Gavin
Preheat 1 oven to 180°C (160 fan), 350°F, Gas 4.
2 In a dry skillet, add the cumin seeds and coriander seeds and cook over medium-high heat until the seeds have darkened a few shades, about 1 minute. Turn out of the pan and roughly crush, either in a spice grinder or with a pestle and mortar.
3 Using a sharp knife, score the fat on the leg of lamb in a criss-cross pattern.
4 Next, prepare the spice paste. Place the crushed cumin and coriander seeds in a bowl. Add the extra virgin olive oil and season with a little salt and freshly ground black pepper – see my top tip below.
5 Place the lamb on a roasting sheet and rub the entire leg with the spice paste, paying particular attention to the top (this is the scored side). Place the roasting pan in the preheated oven and cook the lamb for approximately 1¼ hours for a whole leg of lamb or just 45 minutes for a half leg of lamb – see Rachel recommendations below for calculating cooking times.
6 After cooking, leave the meat in a warm place for 20 minutes. This gives the juice time to redistribute itself in the meat, giving you a deliciously juicy result.
7 While the lamb is resting, place it on a serving plate. Make some gravy by skimming the fat from the roasting pan, then sprinkle the flour into the pan. Set the skillet to a low heat and whisk the flour into the juice, then pour in the chicken broth or lamb broth, whichever you are using, and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. By whisking the mixture, you’ve quenched and dissolved any flavor nuggets clinging to the bottom of the tray. Pour the sauce into a saucepan and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
8 Slice the lamb and pour the lamb’s juice into the sauce. Pour hot sauce over the carved lamb and serve.
top tip
I like to use sea salt flakes instead of fine salt to season lamb because it adds delicious little bursts of flavor.
Rachel recommends
When calculating the cooking time for a bone-in lamb shank, weigh it first and then sear it for 22 minutes per 500g plus an additional 20 minutes.
Grilled spring lamb chops with anchovy, olive and caper butter
3-4 servings
You will need:
125g butter, softened
2 anchovies, chopped
10 capers, chopped
6 black olives, stoned and chopped
1 tbsp parsley, chopped
A squeeze of lemon juice
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
12 lamb chops, cut about 2 cm thick
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 First prepare the anchovy, olive and caper butters. In a bowl, mix together the softened butter, chopped anchovies, chopped capers, chopped black olives, chopped parsley, and lemon juice. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
2 Place the flavored butter on a piece of parchment paper and use it to roll the butter into a roll about 1 inch in diameter. Wrap the butter stick in the parchment paper and store in the fridge until needed.
3 To cook, drizzle the chops with extra virgin olive oil and season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place a griddle or skillet over high heat and allow to get very hot, then add the chops and sear for 3-5 minutes on each side, depending on how good you like them. Let the chops rest for a few minutes.
4 To serve, cut the piece of anchovy, olive and caper butter into slices about 1 cm thick and place a knob of butter on each lamb chops.
“A classic gravy with fresh mint goes perfectly with roast lamb.”
currant sauce
Served 6
You will need:
175 g frozen or fresh currants
125 g caster or granulated sugar
1 Place the frozen redcurrants in a saucepan with the caster sugar or granulated sugar, depending on what you are using. Bring to a boil and stir for 2-3 minutes until currants are soft.
2 If using fresh currants, add 75ml water to the currants and sugar.
Fresh mint sauce
Served 6
You will need:
3 generous tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint
2 teaspoons of sugar
50ml boiling water
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar or lemon juice
1 Put the finely chopped fresh mint and the sugar in a bowl.
2 Add the boiling water (straight from the kettle) and the white wine vinegar or lemon juice depending on what you are using.
3 Stir well and allow to steep for at least 5-10 minutes before serving, although this sauce will keep a full day before using if needed.
Salsa with herbs and anchovies
For 4-6 people
You will need:
2 small handfuls of mint leaves
2 large handfuls of flat-leaf parsley leaves
2 tablespoons capers
8 anchovies, rinsed
110 ml extra virgin olive oil
juice of half a lemon
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 Place the mint leaves, flat-leaf parsley leaves, capers, washed anchovies, extra virgin olive oil and just 1 tablespoon lemon juice in a food processor.
2 Blend for a minute, then taste, adding a pinch of salt, freshly ground black pepper, or a little more lemon juice as needed.
Cumin and coriander seeds in the pan for Rachel Allen’s roast lamb. Photo: Tony Gavin
Apple Mint Chutney
Served 4
You will need:
1 large cooking apple
A large handful of mint leaves
50 g onion, cut into pieces
1-2 generous tablespoons of sugar
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
A pinch of cayenne pepper
Peel 1 cooking apple. Cut into quarters, then remove and discard the core and cut the apple pieces into large chunks.
2 Place the apple chunks in a food processor and add the mint leaves, onion chunks, 1 generous tablespoon sugar, pinch of sea salt and freshly ground pepper, and pinch of cayenne pepper. Whisk until almost smooth but still a little chunky, and season to taste. Add more sugar if needed. Set aside until ready to serve. It keeps in the fridge for a day or two.
https://www.independent.ie/life/food-drink/recipes/rachel-allens-spring-lamb-recipes-simple-tasty-and-perfect-for-easter-41523042.html Spring Lamb Recipes by Rachel Allen – easy, delicious and perfect for Easter