The succulence of the lambs

Rhubarb – now’s the time! Stew gently with a few splashes of water till soft. Sweeten with some agave syrup for a healthier treat to stir into your yoghurt in the morning

MY BEST FRIEND is not the most sentimental of sorts. She fiercely objects to any holiday or celebratory day if the main beneficiary happens to be a greeting-card company, florist or chocolate maker.

Easter seems to benefit the latter to such an extent that it is nearly impossible not to get lured into buying various sizes of mass-produced commercial chocolate eggs, all of which are as hollow and disappointing as the chocolate they contain. Also, you need pliers and a drill to open them, followed by a landfill for all the packaging.

Hearing my frustration, my friend said that the best way to get kids (or anyone sentimental) past a need for chocolate bunnies or eggs is to simply tell them that if they want a chocolate Easter bunny, then they will have to eat a real bunny for Easter lunch. This works a treat, especially for anyone under 12.

It also works if you have a lamb-atarian in your house (we’ve got a 12-year-old one). Lamb-atarians have no problem tucking into bacon (despite reminders about Babe and Charlotte’s Web), or any kind of steak or hamburger. But a drive through the countryside in spring, when one can see baby lambs playfully gambolling in the fields, has had a long-lasting effect. However, she happily scoffed these lamb and pine nut fingers, pretending they were “different”.

Lamb is de rigueur at Easter, so here are two options: one is a tasty canapé or party nibble, and the other is a recipe for roasting lamb.

The rhubarb tart is one I’ve adapted slightly from a Rachel Allen recipe. It looks absolutely gorgeous and was really delicious, although the pastry is quite hard to handle. But the end result is very much worth any slight frustration you’ll have when lining your tin.

Spicy lamb and pine nut fingers

Makes 25-30

If you can’t get sumac, add some lemon rind and maybe a teaspoonful of crushed fennel seeds instead, or ground coriander

100g currants

50ml red wine vinegar

2 tbsp olive oil

350g lamb mince

1 onion, peeled and very finely diced

3 cloves garlic, peeled and very finely diced

1 tbsp sumac (a Middle Eastern spice)

1 tbsp ground cumin

1 tsp harissa paste or a sprinkle of dried chilli

1 handful of coriander leaves, chopped

50g pine nuts

100g haloumi cheese, finely diced

Juice of 1 lemon

Salt and pepper

4 sheets filo pastry (approx 200g)

Melted butter

In a small saucepan, heat the currants and red wine vinegar. Bring it to the boil and then set aside while you get the rest going. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan and add the lamb mince. Cook until it is browning well, and then add the onion, garlic, sumac, cumin and harissa. Mix well and season with salt and pepper. Keep a few coriander leaves for garnish, and then add the rest to the mixture, along with the pine nuts.

Strain the currants, discarding the red wine vinegar, and add them to the meat, along with the haloumi and lemon juice. The mixture should be quite dry. Taste, and allow to cool.

Keep the filo from drying out by letting it defrost under a tea towel in the fridge. Allow a few hours for this. Once it’s pliable enough to open up so that you have four sheets on top of each other, cut each sheet into three rectangles and, working quickly, place a tablespoon of lamb mince in the top part of the filo, leaving a good border. Brush generously with the melted butter and roll up to form a cigar shape. Tuck in the ends and brush the finished roll with plenty of butter before setting aside on a non-stick baking tray.

Once you’ve rolled them up, you can leave them for a few hours covered in the fridge or bake straight away at 190 degrees/gas five for about 20 minutes until golden brown. Season with salt and eat while they are warm.

Roast lamb with lemon, oregano and garlic

2kg leg of lamb

Handful of basil leaves

Handul of oregano

10 cloves of peeled garlic

150ml olive oil

Rind and juice of 2 lemons

60g ground almonds

Salt and pepper

Buy a boned leg of lamb (which should serve six) and score the fat on the outside with a sharp knife, not going through the flesh. Whizz the herbs, garlic and olive oil (which you should slowly pour in) in a blender until smoothish. Stir in the lemon rind and juice, the ground almonds and loads of black pepper. Smear this all over the lamb and leave overnight if possible in a non-metallic bowl or a plastic bag.

Bring the lamb to room temperature before seasoning with plenty of salt. Roast on a high heat (220 degrees/gas seven) for about 20 minutes and then reduce the heat to 180 degrees/gas four, and cook for a further 20 minutes. Leave it to rest somewhere warm for another 20 minutes and then slice thinly and serve with your favourite carbohydrate or, for ultimate laziness, with some hummus slathered between some crusty bread and loads of peppery salad leaves.

Rhubarb and honey cream tart

Pastry

225g flour

40g icing sugar

150g butter

1 large egg, beaten

Mix the ingredients together in a food processor. When it forms a ball, wrap in cling film and leave it to rest for at least an hour, preferably overnight. Roll out the pastry and carefully line a 25-centimetre tart tin, then chill again for another hour while you pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees/gas four. Scrunch up some greaseproof paper and place on top of the pastry with some dried beans or rice and blind-bake for 15 minutes. Carefully remove the paper and beans (they will be very hot) then bake for another five minutes. It’s now ready for the filling, once it has cooled down.

Filling

2 large sticks of rhubarb (approx 250g)

2 tbsp caster sugar

3 egg yolks

250 ml cream

6 tbsp honey

1 tsp vanilla extract

Trim the rhubarb and chop into two-centimetre chunks. You should be left with 200g of chunks. Toss them with the caster sugar. Whisk the egg yolks with the cream, honey and vanilla. Pour into the tart case (which should be sitting on a baking tray for ease of transporting) and then carefully place rhubarb strategically around the circle, so that it forms a pretty pattern. Place them so that the cut side faces up. Bake for 35 minutes at 180 degrees/gas four. There should still be a little wobble in the filling, which will solidify once it has cooled down. This is delicious with whipped cream or vanilla ice-cream.

See also itsa.ie