Celebrate Easter, Passover or just the arrival of spring with this vernal feast. Add steamed or roasted asparagus and a basket of buttery dinner rolls to complete the feast.
EASTER ROSEMARY ROASTED LAMB
Roast lamb perfumes the house with memories of Easter dinners past. This treatment is pretty classic, but takes something from the Greek tradition with its infusion of garlic, the rosemary rub and the chopped tomatoes, which are added to enhance the pan juices.
Servings: About eight, with some leftovers
1 leg of lamb, 6 to 8 pounds
3 large garlic cloves, peeled and cut in slivers
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary, plus branches for garnish
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons coarse-ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 cups dry white wine
2 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. If necessary, trim the papery filament (the “fell”) from the leg by making several small cuts and then pulling it off in pieces. This is usually quite easy to do. Trim off any excess fat. Make a good many small slits in the meat and insert the slivers of garlic.
In a small bowl, combine rosemary, salt, pepper and olive oil. Rub paste all over the meat, place on a rack in a shallow roasting pan, pour wine into the pan, and scatter chopped tomatoes around in the wine.
Place pan in the preheated oven and immediately reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. Roast for about 12 minutes per pound to desired degree of doneness. A meat thermometer inserted in the thickest part will register about 135 degrees for medium-rare, 11/4 to 11/2 hours.
Remove from the oven, transfer to a carving platter, tent with foil and let rest for 15 minutes before carving. (Internal temperature will increase about 5 degrees from the residual heat.)
Skim any fat off pan juices and reheat them if necessary. Carve lamb, garnish platter with rosemary branches and serve with the pan juices.
CLASSIC SCALLOPED POTATOES
Scalloped potatoes can be made with tons of butter and cream, but this classic not-too-rich rendition complements the rich lamb nicely.
Servings: Eight
3 pounds all-purpose potatoes such as Maine potatoes or Yukon Golds, peeled and thinly sliced (about 6 cups)
1 small onion, thinly sliced
2 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3 cups half-and-half
4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs such as parsley, thyme, sage or a combination
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a shallow 3-quart baking dish.
In a large bowl, toss potatoes with the onion, flour, salt and pepper and spread out evenly in prepared dish.
In a saucepan, combine half-and-half and butter and heat over medium heat until the butter melts and steam rises, about 2 minutes. Pour milk mixture over the potatoes. Cover baking dish loosely with foil.
Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Uncover casserole, sprinkle with the chopped herbs and continue to bake uncovered until potatoes are very tender, about 30 minutes. Serve directly from the baking dish.
LEMON PEEL POUND CAKE WITH STRAWBERRY SAUCE
This intensely lemony, nicely sliceable, tender-crumbed pound cake is a wonderful vehicle for any berries, but is especially wonderful with a juicy strawberry sauce.
Servings: At least 18 slices
POUND CAKE:
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons cake flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
3 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar, plus 1/4 cup for glaze
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons lemon juice, plus 4 tablespoons for glaze
Powdered sugar
STRAWBERRY SAUCE:
1 quart ripe strawberries
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter a 10-cup non-stick bundt pan, sprinkle with flour and knock out the excess.
Whisk flour with the salt and baking soda in a small bowl.
In a large bowl using an electric mixer, cream butter and cream cheese until fluffy. Add sugar and beat for 3 minutes, scraping down sides of the bowl once or twice. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Beat in vanilla, lemon zest and lemon juice. Add flour mixture in 3 additions and beat just until smooth. Spoon into the prepared pan, smoothing the top.
Bake in the preheated oven until the top is pale golden and a tester comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Unmold onto a rack set over a sheet of waxed paper.
In a small saucepan, heat the 1/4 cup sugar and 4 tablespoons lemon juice until bubbly and sugar dissolves. Brush syrup over the warm cake. Cool completely, wrap, and refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before cutting into slices to serve.
Hull the strawberries and place half the berries in a large shallow bowl or on a large rimmed plate and crush with a large fork or a potato masher. Slice remaining berries and combine with the crushed berries.
Stir in the sugar and lemon juice and set aside at room temperature for at least 30 minutes to allow juices to flow.
(Can be prepared up to 6 hours ahead and refrigerated. Return to room temperature before serving.) Spoon sauce over cake slices and serve.
Brooke Dojny is author or co-author of more than a dozen cookbooks, most recently “The New England Clam Shack Cookbook” (Storey 2008). She lives on the Blue Hill peninsula.
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