Did you do it? Is that laidback, prepare-ahead-of-time Easter menu from last week all in the fridge, waiting to be dished up tomorrow? If the answer is yes, give yourself a pat on the back and crack open a bottle of Easter fizz, or at least make yourself a brew. If, however, due to unforeseen circ*mstances – life, say – you haven't got round to it, and you find yourself with expectant mouths due to arrive imminently and no clue what you're going to put in them other than cheap chocolate, then worry not. This week I bring you something from the real-life end of holiday weekends: a last-minute menu that you can whip up in an hour or two on Easter morning. It'll also come inhandy if your guests linger longer than expected (cook them one fabulous meal and there's adanger they'll stay for another).
As you may have gathered, I'm not religiously attached to the beat-the-clock approach to holiday catering. That's largely because I don't see cooking as a chore – in my book, time spent in the kitchen is time gained, not lost. So when better to indulge than when we have a few days off, and friends and family to whom we can delegate some tasks? There's a crucial difference between making life easy and relaxed, and saving time in the kitchen for the sake of it.
One general principle for cooking in company with minimum stress isto free yourself from any rigid timetable. To this end, choose recipes that aren't too time-sensitive – a pud that can sit in the fridge for abit; a starter that doesn't have to be served hot; a main that can rest for five minutes, or 20. Then it doesn't matter if a course is delayed by the sudden arrival at the table of afamily photo album, or if lunch is interrupted by a diplomatic incident among the under-fives – or indeed the Boat Race. Some of the most enjoyable meals I've ever had have been slightly on-the-hoof, with friends roped in to do one thing oranother when I run out of hands.
So here's a menu that's made to be malleable, and to ensure that you are no less relaxed and restored by the Easter break than those gathered round your table.
Salad of lettuce, chorizo and soft boiled eggs
This salad just says "spring" to me: lettuce, eggs and sweet little onions, spiced up with a bit of salty, savoury chorizo – a nifty little Easter starter, if ever there was one. Serves eight.
Olive oil
250g chorizo, cut into matchsticks or half-moons
6 large eggs, at room temperature
3 large little gem lettuces
6-8 spring onions, sliced on the diagonal about 5mm thick
For the dressing
4 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp cider vinegar
½ tsp English mustard
Pinch of sugar
Sea salt and freshly ground blackpepper
Heat a trickle of oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the chorizo and fry for about five minutes, tossing often, until crisp. Scoop the chorizo out of the pan andleave to drain on kitchen paper. (The spicy red fat left in the pan is a delicious medium if you're frying onions for a pasta dish.)
Cook the eggs: bring a large pan of water to a rolling boil, add the eggs and cook for exactly eight minutes. Immediately put the pan in the sink and run under the cold tap for a minute or so, to stop the eggs from cooking further. When the eggs are cool enough to handle, peel them. Whisk the dressing ingredients.
Separate the lettuces into individual leaves, wash and dry. Arrange the leaves on a large serving platter and trickle with a little dressing. Quarter the eggs (ifthey're still a little warm at this point, all the better) and arrange over the leaves, then trickle with a little more dressing. Scatter over the chorizo and spring onions, sprinkle on salt, pepper and any remaining dressing, and serve, with some crusty bread.
Pork chops with cider and loads of garlic
This dish is an old favourite of mine: a lovely, simple way to cook chops that produces a rich, savoury gravy with absolutely no extra work. Serves eight.
8 pork chops (loin or chump)
3 large (or 4 medium) whole heads of garlic
Olive or rapeseed oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Several generous sprigs fresh thyme(optional)
5-6 bay leaves (optional)
400ml dry cider
Heat the oven to 220C/425F/gas mark 7 and in it heat up a large ovenproof dish that will comfortably hold all the chops.
Separate all the garlic cloves, butdon't peel them. Squash each clove lightly with the flat of a heavy knife, just to split the skins and bruise the garlic.
In a large frying pan, heat a little oil. Add all the whole garlic cloves, fry them, stirring, for couple of minutes, then remove with a slotted spoon and setaside.
Season the pork chops generously and brown them in thesame frying pan – you may need to add some more oil first. Work in batches, afewchops at atime, so as not toovercrowd the pan. When the chops are well browned on both sides, transfer them to the nowhotoven dish. Scatter the garliccloves over and around the chops, and tuck theherbs (if using) under the meat.
Return the frying pan to the heat and add the cider. Let it simmer away for three to four minutes, so itdeglazes the pan; as the cider bubbles, scrape up any bits of caramelised meat and seasoning stuck to the pan. Tip the cider over the chops, add some more salt and pepper, and return the dish to thehot oven.
Roast the chops for 15-20 minutes, basting them with the pan juices halfway through. When they are done, the meat should be cooked through and the thinner, fattier ends lovely and crisp. The garlic, though perhaps a little blackened onthe outside, should besweet andtender within. The pan juices make an excellent gravy.
Serve each chop with a few wholegarlic cloves, a spoonful ofthe pan juices, some steamed greens or broccoli, and the following take onmashed potato.
Oven mash
This is not only labour-saving, in that you needn't bother with peeling and chopping the spuds,; it's also a great way to get that lovely, dry, crumbly texture in the cooked potato that always makes for good mash. Youcan cook the potatoes before the chops need to go in,then wrap them in a couple of tea towels to keep them warm before mashing at the last minute. Serves eight.
2kg large floury potatoes, such as maris piper or king edward
350ml whole milk
150g unsalted butter
Sea salt and freshly ground blackpepper
Heat the oven to 200C/390F/gas mark 6. Scrub the potatoes and prickthem all over with a fork. Place them in the oven and bake for about an hour, depending on their size, until tender all the way through.
Heat the milk and butter in a large pan until steaming. Add plenty of salt and pepper, and take off the heat. Halve the hot potatoes and scoop out the flesh. Drop this straight into the pan of hot milk and use a potato masher to break it down, or pass it through a ricer into the pan. Either way, combine the potato with the milk to create a smooth, fluffy mash. Season to taste, then serve.
Apricot yoghurt fool with almonds
This quick and easy fruity pud has alovely tang from the apricots and citrus juices. Make it first, before you start on the other courses, so ithas time to chill. Serves eight.
250g soft, unsulphured, ready-to-eat dried apricots
Juice of ½ lemon
Juice of 1 orange
300ml double cream
300ml plain, wholemilk yoghurt
60g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Toasted, flaked almonds
Roughly chop the apricots and put them in a bowl with the lemon and orange juice. Leave to soak for at least 30 minutes, and ideally longer, if at all possible.
Combine the cream, yoghurt, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl. Beat the mixture until it holds soft peaks. Fold the chopped apricots and their fruity juices into the cream mixture. Divide between eight small bowls or other serving dishes. Chill until needed, then sprinkle with flaked almonds and serve.
