The traditional Easter roast dinner appears to be falling out of fashion as only 30% of UK families cooked roast lamb for their Easter lunch last year. And Recipebox service Gousto found in its 2024 trends report that Brits are finding a certain escapism in their cooking by using flavors from around the world.
The gourmet chef Sophie Nahmad has selected recipes that give a twist to your traditional Easter dishes, while preserving classic elements.
“Let’s start with Easter brunch,” says Sophie. “It’s important to fuel all those egg hunts, and chocolate alone might not be enough. One of the joys of home cooking is getting to experiment with different flavors, and these Spanish eggs with chorizo are a spicy twist on your classic full English that gives you plenty of energy for all the family games.”
Instructions for 2 servings
Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:
- 400 g potatoes
- 10 g fresh parsley
- 100 g British mini chef chorizo
- 1 clove of garlic
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 4 British free range eggs
- 1 yellow bell pepper
- 1 red onion
You will also need: olive oil, pepper, salt, sugar, vegetable oil
1.
Heat the oven to 230°C/ 210°C (fan)/ 450°F/ Gas 8. Cut all the potatoes (skin on) into bite-sized pieces.
Place them on a baking sheet, drizzle with 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and season with salt, then put them in the oven for the first 25 minutes.
2.
Meanwhile, peel and finely chop the red onion.
Core the yellow pepper (scrape out the seeds and core with a teaspoon) and cut into thin strips.
3.
Heat a large, wide pan with a drizzle of olive oil over medium heat.
When hot, add the sliced onion and pepper with a generous pinch of salt and cook for 15-20 minutes or until softened and caramelized.
4.
Meanwhile, cut the mini chrysanthemums in half.
Peel and finely chop the garlic.
Finely chop the parsley, including the stems.
5.
When the potatoes are almost done, remove the tray from the oven, turn the potatoes and spread the chorizo between them.
Return the tray to the oven for another 10 minutes or until the potatoes are crispy and the chorizo is hot.
6.
Meanwhile, heat a separate pan (large enough to hold 4 eggs, and preferably non-stick) with a matching lid, with 1 tbsp olive oil over medium-low heat.
Tip: shake your eggs before cracking for a perfectly centered yolk.
When hot, add the eggs, cover and cook for 3 min.
7.
Meanwhile, add the sliced garlic to the onion and pepper pan and reduce the heat to low (add more olive oil if too dry).
Stir in the apple cider vinegar and 1 tablespoon of sugar.
Cook for another 2 minutes, then remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper. Stir most of the chopped parsley through the bell pepper and onion mixture – this is your treat.
Serve the eggs over the chorizo and potatoes and add the relish on the side, then garnish with the rest of the parsley.
“After all the eggs have been hunted and lots of chocolates have been devoured, you’ll start thinking about Easter lunch. Shepherd’s Pie is a firm family favorite and this recipe gives the cult dish a fun spin, influenced by the fragrant spices of India so you can take a trip around the world from your dinner table.”
Indian Style Shepherd’s Pie with Musty Greens
Instructions for 2 drinks
Time: 50 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 bag of black mustard seeds (3.8 g)
- 32 g tomato puree
- 1 tablespoon garam masala
- 1 tsp nigella seeds
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 bag of chicken broth (11g)
- 1/2 tsp Turmeric
- 1 teaspoon dried chili flakes
- 4 white potatoes
- 1 carrot
- 250 g British minced lamb
- 1 spring green
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 red onion
You also need: butter, milk, olive oil, salt, vegetable oil, water
Method:
1.
Heat the oven to 220°C/200°C (fan)/gas 7.
Boil a kettle, then peel and cut the potatoes into rough, bite-sized pieces.
Add the chopped potatoes to a pan of boiling water with a pinch of salt over high heat and cook for 12-15 minutes or until fork tender.
When they are cooked, drain and return them to the pot.
2.
While the potatoes are cooking, boil half a kettle. Peel and finely chop your red onion and carrot.
Peel and finely chop (or grate) your garlic.
Heat a large, wide pan (preferably non-stick) with a drizzle of vegetable oil on high heat.
When hot, add the chopped onion, carrot and garlic with a pinch of salt and cook for 3-5 minutes or until it begins to soften.
3.
While the vegetables are cooking, dissolve your chicken stock in 250ml of boiled water.
Once the onions have softened, add your ground cumin, tomato puree, chilli flakes (can’t take the heat? Go easy!) and minced lamb and cook for a further 4-5 mins, breaking up the lamb with a wooden spoon as you go.
4.
While the minced lamb is cooking, add your ground turmeric to the drained potatoes with a splash of milk and a dollop of butter.
Puree until smooth, then season with salt – this is your cucumber jam.
5.
Once the vegetables have softened, add the chicken stock and garam masala to the pan and cook for another 6-7 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened to a gravy-like consistency and the lamb is cooked through (no pink meat!) – this is your Indian-style lamb stuffing.
Wash your spring greens and then pat them dry with paper towels.
Tear off the leaves from the spring vegetables, discarding the tough stems, then layer the leaves on top of each other, roll them up and cut into thin strips.
6.
Pour the Indian-style lamb filling into an ovenproof dish (save the pan for later!).
Top evenly with the turmeric paste, add a drizzle of olive oil and sprinkle over your nigella seeds.
Tip: Gently run a fork over the mash to create a crispy top!
Place the tin in the oven for 15-20 mins or until golden and crispy – this is your Indian shepherd’s pie.
7.
When the Indian shepherd’s pie is almost done, wipe the pan with paper towels and return to medium heat with a drizzle of vegetable oil on medium heat.
When hot, add your black mustard seeds and when you hear them sizzling, add the sliced spring greens with a pinch of salt and cook for 2-3 minutes or until wilted.
Once wilted, cover and set aside until serving – these are your mushy greens.
Let the Indian shepherd’s pie stand for 5 minutes before serving (this helps the flavors develop and makes it easier to serve!), then serve with the mushy vegetables on the side.
“Lamb hotpot is another classic British dish, especially at Easter time. Since Easter brings the joy of new life, why not try a new flavor? If you’ve been craving something fresh, here comes this variation on the lamb stew, with the spicy North African Harissa , to bring a bit of adventure to your Easter celebration, while retaining the much-loved comfort we all know and love about this classic dish.
Harissa Lamb Hotpot with Minty Beans
Instructions for 2 servings
Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:
- 32 g tomato puree
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 beef broth mix bag (5.5 g)
- 3 white potatoes
- 1 carrot
- 1 bag of harissa paste (40g)
- 80 g fine green beans
- 250 g British minced lamb
- 5g as
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 bag of sultanas (30g)
- 1 red onion
You will also need: olive oil, salt, vegetable oil, butter
Method:
1.
Heat the oven to 220°C/200°C (fan)/gas 7 and boil half a kettle.
Cut the potatoes (skin on) into slices and place them on a baking sheet with a generous dollop of vegetable oil and a pinch of salt. Mix everything well and put the tray in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until it starts to soften.
2.
While the potatoes are cooking, peel and finely chop the red onion. Top, tail, peel and dice the carrot.
Heat a large, wide pan (preferably non-stick) with a drizzle of olive oil on medium heat. When hot, add the chopped onion and carrot with a pinch of salt and cook for 4-5 minutes or until softened.
3.
Meanwhile, peel and finely chop (or grate) the garlic.
Dissolve the beef broth mixture in 250ml of boiled water and stir in the harissa (can’t handle the heat? Go easy!), tomato puree and sultanas – this is your spicy stock.
4.
Once the onion and carrot have softened, raise the heat to high and add the minced lamb to the pan with the ground cumin and minced garlic.
Cook for 3-4 minutes or until browned, breaking it up with a wooden spoon as you go.
Add the spicy stock, bring to a boil over high heat and cook for a further 3-4 minutes or until thickened to a bolognese-like consistency – this is your spicy lamb mixture.
5.
Transfer the spicy lamb mixture to an ovenproof dish. Carefully top with the softened potato slices (be careful, they will be hot!).
Put the tin in the oven for 15-20 min or until everything is bubbling and the potatoes are golden and cooked through – this is your harissa lamb stew.
6.
After the kettle has boiled for 10 minutes, boil half a kettle. Place the green beans in a saucepan over medium heat and cover with boiling water.
Bring to a boil over high heat and cook for 3-4 mins or until tender to the bite.
7.
Peel the mint leaves from the stems and finely chop them, discarding the stems.
When the beans are soft, drain and return them to the pot. Add a dollop of butter and the chopped mint and stir everything together until melted – these are your mint beans.
Serve the harissa lamb stew with mint beans on the side.
“No family gathering would be complete without dessert. This is a super easy recipe that offers a great opportunity for kids to get involved in the kitchen. Once the chocolate is out of the hot pan, kids can get creative with putting together any fun toppings you want, including .And as Easter comes early this year and there’s no guarantee of good weather, this decorating task can act as the perfect rainy activity to celebrate indoors if the British weather doesn’t bring sunshine – Happy Easter!”
Jumpy road
Instructions for 20 squares
Ingredients:
For the base
- 300g leftover Easter chocolate (we used Dark), broken up
- 125 g butter, diced
- 45 ml (3 tbsp) golden syrup
- A pinch of salt
For the filling (this is just a suggestion, you can use whatever you want!)
- A couple of big handfuls of marshmallows
- A handful of salted popcorn
- A handful of broken biscuits
- A handful of salted pretzels
- Some creme eggs
- Any leftover mini eggs
Method:
1. Line a small, deep baking tray with parchment paper.
2. Melt the chocolate, butter, golden syrup and salt in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water over low heat.
3. When melted, remove from the heat, let cool for about 5 min, then fold in the filling and pour it into your baking tray.
4. Boil the creme eggs and decorate the top with any accessories.
5. Place in the fridge for a couple of hours, then carefully turn out and cut into squares.
