Best Lamb Recipes for Easter

There’s a regal-ness to lamb that speaks of tradition and lavish celebration. It signifies generosity and extends open-handed hospitality. Although our festivities might be smaller and more intimate this year, roast lamb uphold its glorious reputation as the feasting table’s centrepiece. Because of my great love-affair with Middle Eastern food, the exoticness of this Roast lamb with saffron honey remains one of my most loved lamb roast recipes.

Possibly one of the most popular recipes on the blog is this Roast leg of lamb with marmalade-ish red onions. There are three key players here. Succulent free-range Karoo lamb, red onions and Natura Sugars. When cooking with only a few ingredients, choosing the best quality is key. I’ve partnered with Natura Sugars, a Cape Town based company who’s exclusive range of unrefined sugars are truly superior.

Lamb shawarma’s iconic status reaches well beyond the borders of the Middle East. Come to think of it, what better way to eat a roast than in a casual pita-pocket. I’ve deviated slightly from tradition by including a splash of red wine and a little stock to make a pan gravy. The result is a chestnut-coloured sauce that’ll have everyone in a flurry.

For our Easter gathering this year, I’ll be making Red wine Lamb shanks with browned sage butter. Imbued with the distinctive taste of indigenous Karoo shrubs, it’s delicately sweet and utterly beautiful.

For these Marinated Spiced lamb chops I’ve chosen Middle Eastern flavourings like coriander, paprika and lemon that compliment the sweet fattiness of lamb. If you have time, marinating overnight will ensure the flavours are concentrated and certain, although you can get away with several hours.

Bredie is as much a part of South African food culture as Milktart and pancakes. Traditionally, it’s made using  mutton or stewing lamb. As with most stews, the flavourings are simple with foundational basics like onion, garlic and a good stock. From there, you can add any number of vegetables. Pumpkin, green beans and waterblommetjies are firm favourites. Typically, bredie is a slow-cooked Cape Malay stew. While not especially hot, it is mildly spicy and deeply flavourful. Coriander, garam masala and cumin are responsible for the earthiness of the sauce, while ginger and chilli offer a heated element. I balance the savouriness and tomatoey acids with a squidge of honey.

For this hugely popular Shepherd’s pie, the choice of vegetables depends on what you have in the fridge. It’s the perfect opportunity to clear out the veggie draw.  Leeks, carrots, celery, mushrooms and whatever else I find goes into in. Frozen peas are a must, though. Any Shepherd’s pie worth its salt has to have peas. Piped mash is fancy and obviously unnecessary if you want to keep things simple. Piled on and forked over like our grandmothers used to do, is just as tasty.