WHAT TO COOK THIS EASTER
From hot cross bun ice-cream sandwiches to the tastiest lamb roast, we asked food experts to share what they’re cooking this Easter weekend. Be warned: this might make you hungry
Brunch banh mi
For something deliciously different for your Easter brunch, try food writer Uyen Luu’s egg banh mi – a Vietnamese sandwich with soft herby omelette in a crusty baguette with pickled carrot, cucumber and chilli.
Ingredients (serves 2)
1 carrot, peeled and thinly sliced
Juice of ½ lime
1 tsp caster sugar
1 M&S baguette
1 tbsp cooking oil
50g leeks, finely sliced
1 shallot
40g peas
40g spinach, sliced
40g cabbage, sliced
4 eggs
4 tbsp M&S teriyaki sauce
Butter
Sliced cucumber, coriander, sliced spring onion, sliced chilli, to serve
Mix the carrot with the lime juice and sugar in a bowl and set aside.
Separate the egg yolks and whites into two bowls. Add the spinach and cabbage to the yolk bowl with the teriyaki sauce and mix. Whip the egg whites until they form soft peaks, then fold into the yolk and greens.
Cut the baguette in half and scoop out some of the dough. Stuff the hollow baguette with the garnishes and carrot pickle.
Cook the leeks, peas and shallots in a large pan over a medium heat with one tbsp oil until soft. Pour over the egg mixture. Every 30 seconds, fold the whipped omelette over in half and keep folding in all directions until cooked. Stuff the omelette into the baguettes.
The perfect roast lamb
Our director of food product development, April Preston, has a handy tip for giving your Easter roast lamb centrepiece a flavour boost.
“I love to stud a leg of lamb all over with peeled garlic cloves, rosemary sprigs and anchovies,” she says. “Then simply roast it in the oven until pink. If you don’t fancy the anchovies, then leave them out, but if you haven’t tried cooking lamb this way before, it could change your life.”
Serve with roasted potatoes and minted peas, or try chef Chris Baber’s ideas for killer sides to go with your roast, below.
Flavour-packed sides
It’s not all about the main event: chef Chris Baber shares some easy ways to turn up the flavour in the accompaniments to your Easter roast.
- Roast carrots (there’s no need to peel them) with a dressing made from a spoonful of Cook with M&S rose harissa paste, a splash of olive oil, a squeeze of honey and a little red wine vinegar.
- For the perfect crispy-on-the-outside, fluffy-in-the-middle roasties, peel then parboil until just tender, then cook in a preheated tray with a little vegetable oil. For spuds with the X-factor, sprinkle over a little Cook with M&S roast potato seasoning.
- Instead of steaming broccoli, roast it in the oven until gently charred – it gives the broccoli a great depth of flavour. Serve with Cook with M&S crispy onions for crunch.
Hot cross bun ice-cream sandwiches
Use our delicious M&S luxury hot cross buns in this delicious Easter dessert, with hot cross bun ice-cream, from food writer Flora Shedden.
Ingredients (makes 4)
6 M&S luxury hot cross buns
450ml milk
150ml double cream
6 egg yolks
150g caster sugar
1 tbsp brandy
1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste
Unsalted butter
Make the ice-cream the night before. Toast two hot cross buns and place in a shallow bowl, then pour over the milk and leave to soak for 30 minutes. Strain through a sieve. Weigh into a saucepan and top up with extra milk until you have 300ml. Add the cream and heat until almost at boiling point. Whisk the yolks, sugar, brandy and vanilla. Pour the hot milk on top and whisk. Heat until the mixture reaches 75C. Chill in the fridge then transfer to an ice-cream maker [if you have one] and churn [or cover and put in the freezer, whisking every half and hour until frozen to stop ice crystals forming].
Tear another hot cross bun into small pieces and toss with the sugar, then bake at 180C until golden, before adding to the ice-cream for the last five minutes of churning, then transfer to a container and freeze.
When you’re ready to serve, toast the remaining buns and use a cookie cutter to cut rounds of ice-cream – serve the ice-cream in the toasted buns.
Malted chocolate Easter cupcakes
Use our pastel-hued chicky choccy speckled eggs to decorate these fudgy, coconut-topped cupcakes by food writer and blogger Izy Hossack.
Ingredients (makes 12)
120g plain white flour
200g white granulated sugar
40g cocoa powder
20g malted milk powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
100g natural yoghurt
60g vegetable oil
1 medium egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
125ml boiling water
For the icing
100g dark chocolate, chopped
75g unsalted butter
100g malted milk powder
50g icing sugar
75ml whole milk
30g desiccated coconut
12 M&S chicky choccy speckled eggs
Preheat the oven to 180C fan/200C/Gas mark 4 and line a 12-cup muffin tin with muffin liners. Combine the plain flour, sugar, cocoa powder, malted milk powder, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt in a bowl, then add the yoghurt, oil, egg and vanilla and stir. Whisk in the boiling water. Divide between the muffin liners and bake for 20-22 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the icing, melt the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water.
Sift the malted milk powder, icing sugar and a pinch of salt into a bowl then whisk in the milk. Pour the chocolate into the malted milk mixture, stir and allow to cool before whisking with an electric whisk.
Spread the chocolate icing onto each cupcake, then press with desiccated coconut and finish with speckled eggs.
Food editor: Heather Taylor Styling: Annie Rigg Images: Tara Fisher Prop styling: Cynthia Blackett Art direction: Helen Richardson
