Easter is upon us, and an early one at that. As the years go by, I’m learning that it is important on these long weekends to stop and spend time with family. What is even better is using this time to host a meal. It has been said that the truest act of love is to cook for someone. This practice of celebrating events, achievements, milestones is as old as time. Breaking bread across a table is a common ground that has brought so many together.
What I love about Easter in Ireland is it usually lands among an abundance of brilliant seasonal ingredients. Traditionally, lamb is the showpiece as the first lambing season of the year has begun. For many, lamb doesn’t float their boat, it has a very distinctive flavour that changes depending on the age of the animal.
Technically speaking, lamb is only lamb from the birth of the animal until one year old. The meat is lighter in colour, lower in fat and extremely tender. From one to two years old we are dealing with hogget. The flavour here is slightly stronger, with more fat and a darker colour. I really like hogget, there is more texture to the meat and the fat adds greatly to the flavour. It lends itself beautifully to long, slow roasting. After two years of age, the sheep meat is referred to as mutton. This is deep in colour with lots of fat and a firmer texture. The smell of mutton cooking is intense, and may be responsible for some ill feelings many have towards its younger predecessor.
Don’t be put off, this is the time of year to sample the best of the best. Ireland produces some of the world’s better lamb, mainly due to our proximity to the sea. The wet climate and lower temperatures have forced the animals to carry more fat to insulate themselves. The result is greater flavour in both the meat and the dairy each will produce. On top of that, the grass and wild fauna the animals graze on is essentially seasoned throughout the winter by the seawater that crashes on to the coastline, increasing salinity in the air which then perfumes the land. Paints a pretty picture doesn’t it?
So, what are we cooking for this Easter feast? We have a slow roast leg of lamb, the juices thickened with gravy granules and used to glaze the crispy exterior of the meat. This is seasoned with lemon and pepper to reflect the saline flavours of the Atlantic coast. Anchovy hollandaise plays alongside the lamb, one of my favourite combinations of flavours in food, again highlighting the coastal nature of our island. Lambchovy, as I call it.
There are some simple roasted potatoes, as every roast dinner needs them. For greenery, I’ve cooked some stunning rainbow chard which is now bang in season, a little garlic, chilli and lemon butter glaze shows them off in their Sunday best. And finally, my baked potato bread to mop up all the juices; this is a type of French brioche dough. The addition of baked potato pulp and Kerrygold butter adds some Irish power to the front row. It is absolutely delicious here, and with pretty much anything.
To those of you celebrating this weekend, enjoy it. To those of you in the kitchen, I salute you. Happy Easter.
