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Rack of lamb is an alternative for an Easter dinner.
Last Easter most folks were still avoiding crowds, which may have led to simply grilling lamb burgers on the grill for two and calling it a religious celebration. But this year, I’m going on the unresearched assumption that crowds are gathering for a more traditional Easter holiday.
As I grew up, I never saw lamb on the table, not even for Easter. My mom thought it tasted ‘gamey” so that translated to a spiral cut ham decorated with canned pineapple slices after church. It wasn’t until I left home that I discovered that lots of dinner tables are loaded down with lamb for Easter.
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But, why is eating lamb considered part of celebrating a traditional Easter? The first thing to know is only a sheep less than one year old is a lamb. The meat from sheep in their second year is hogget (a term mostly used by Norway, New Zealand, South Africa and Australia). Older sheep meat is sold as mutton.
The Good Cook “Lamb” book (one of a wonderful but out-of-print series of instructional cookbooks published by Time-Life Books) proclaims: “No meat-producing animals have had as long and profound an association with civilized man as sheep.”
Eating lamb for a religious observance is documented before the birth of Jesus Christ. The best-known story is in the Book of Exodus when the Israelites are enslaved in ancient Egypt. The God of the Israelites commands Moses to confront the Pharaoh and to show His power, God inflicts a series of 10 plagues on the Egyptians, with the last being the death of the first-born.
Before He brings the final scourge, God commands Moses to tell the Israelites to mark lamb's blood above their doors so that God will pass over their house (and not kill their firstborn). There is a happy ending. After that plague, Pharaoh orders the Israelites to leave Egypt (well, they do have to wander for 40 years but that’s not part of this story). And so, each spring the Jewish Passover is observed with lamb served with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.
As Christianity and the New Testament became popular with some Jews, they carried over the tradition of eating lamb as part of the spring Easter.
Of course, there is extensive symbolism in the Bible, especially for lamb. In the New Testament, John the Baptist sees Jesus and exclaims, "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world."
Later, the crucifixion of Jesus is described as a sacrificial lamb who rises in three days in victory as the Resurrected Christ. Yes, this was a long walk to describe how lamb is tied to Easter but well worth the stroll, yes? Here are three ideas to serve your group this Easter.
Adapted from “The Olive and the Caper: Adventures in Greek Cooking” by Susanna Hoffman
As Ms. Hoffman writes in her introduction to this recipe: “No meat bears more symbolic importance in Greece than lamb, nor is any meant more beloved.”
This version has all the usual suspects from Greek cooking: lamb, garlic, oregano, olive oil. What else could you want? The recipe calls for the oven, but I feel the smell of charcoal roasting lamb outdoors is a better way to go. But, as always, that’s your personal choice. I like plenty of seasoning on my lamb so I may have actually used more than the recipe calls for, but this is a good start.
1 leg of lamb (51/2 to 6 pounds) preferably with the shank. It helps to order this ahead, just to make sure the store doesn’t run out of legs.
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano, or 1 ½ teaspoon dried (Look for Greek oregano. It does have a different flavor than the Mexican. Botanically, Greek oregano is part of the mint family, and Mexican oregano is part of the verbena family)
Using your fingers to find the natural openings around the bone and a small paring knife to make slits across the top of the beg, insert the garlic slivers into the lamb. Place the leg in your roasting pan or a platter if cooking on the grill.
Pulverize the peppercorns and mustard seeds together in a pepper grinder (I use an old blade coffee grinder that I reserve for spices) or with a mortar and pestle. Add the oregano and salt and stir to mix. Pat the spice mixture on the lamb, coating it all over.
Pour the oil around the lamb on the pan/plate and turn the lamb to coat it all over. Set the lamb aside at room temperature for at least 30 minutes for the spices to season the meat.
Preheat the oven or light your grill, bring it up to 425°. Place the lamb in the oven/on the grill and roast until juices begin to exude, around 20 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 375° or on the grill move to the indirect side of the grill and continue roasting until the meat is done. This depends on your desired doneness, but keep in mind the exterior will be more done than the interior but figure 1 hour and 10 minutes to 1 hour 20 minutes to reach medium-rare when the thickest part of the leg reaches 145°F.
Remove the roast and let sit in a warm place to allow for carry-over cooking and the juices to settle, about 15 minutes.
The author recommends serving with pickled red onions or sliced green tomato pickles.
Adapted from "The New Spanish Table" by Anya von Bremzen
If you are in the food world, or you just read cookbooks like I do, you know that "Ferran" is the famed Spanish chef Ferran Adrià, who was head chef of El Bulli restaurant on Spain’s Costa Brava. The restaurant held three Michelin stars and was called one of the best restaurants in the world before he closed it 2011.
The chef referred to his cooking as “deconstructivist”, taking a dish that is well known and transforming all its ingredients, so it appears radically different from the original.
Ms. Von Bremzen writes that this more traditional recipe is from Chef Ferran’s "Cooking at Home" cookbook (I did find "The Family Meal: Home Cooking" with Ferran Adrià, online in English, so that may be the same thing). Luckily, it does not rely on culinary foam and other tricks that he used at his restaurant.
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 rack of lamb (8 chops) I like to cook two racks and have leftovers
8 thin slices of pancetta, cut into 1-inch wide strips
8 scallions, white and tender green parts only, trimmed
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Place the pistachios, thyme, and rosemary in a mini food processor. Add half the olive oil and process to a paste. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Pour half of the pistachio pesto into a small bowl, stir in the remaining olive oil, and set aside to use as a sauce.
Spread some of the remaining pistachio pesto all over the lamb. Place the strips of pancetta between the bones and wrap them around the meat, leaving the bones exposed. Spread the rest of the pistachio pesto over the pancetta and place the rack in a medium-sized roasting pan.
Bake the lamb until an instant-read thermometer registers 130°F, about 40 minutes for medium-rare.
Transfer the lamb to a cutting board and let it rest for 5 minutes. Spoon 1 teaspoon of the rendered pancetta fat into a medium-size skillet and heat over high heat. Add the whole scallions and cook until softened and browned in spots, about 4 minutes.
Cut the rack of lamb into 8 chops (slice the knife blade along the bone) and arrange 2 chops on each plate, along with the scallions. Drizzle the pistachio pest sauce all around the chops and serve at once.
Adapted from "Tacolicious" by Sara Deseran
What if you’re like my mom and don’t like lamb but still want a celebratory meal? This is a tasty substitute from that other animal that feeds rich and poor throughout the world: the pig. This pulled pork specialty from the Yucatán is brightened by ground achiote seed and fresh citrus. When my wife and I visited Mérida, the colorful capital of the Mexican state of Yucatán, for a week we ate this dish at least three times, maybe more, since I wanted to taste the variations that local cooks made to it. This is great for a crowd when served with beans and rice and, of course, plenty of fresh tortillas.
2 tablespoons achiote paste (available in any of the Mexican markets in town)
½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
½ cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1 ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 pounds boneless pork shoulder, in roughly 2 equal-size pieces
2 large banana leaves (usually in the frozen food of a Mexican market; sometimes you find them fresh)
Corn tortillas warmed for serving
Chopped white onion, chopped fresh cilantro, salsa of choice, and lime wedges, for serving
Cook’s note: This requires a marinate of at least 8 hours, plus about 4 hours of roasting.
Marinade: In a blender, combine the oil, achiote paste, orange juice, lime juice, garlic, salt and pepper and puree until smooth.
Put the pork in a large, heavy-duty zip-top plastic bag, add the marinade and seal the bag closed. Massage the contents of the bag to evenly coat the pork. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours or up to 24 hours, turning the pork occasionally to marinate evenly.
Preheat the oven to 325°F.
Remove the pork from the refrigerator. Select a large roasting pan.
To prepare the banana leaves for lining the pan, first check for a hard part on each leaf where the leaf attaches to the rib and cut that out with scissors. Next cut each leaf into 3 equal sections, about 12 inches longer than the length of the pan. Line the bottom and sides of the pan with the leaf sections, overlapping them and letting them hang over the edges of the pan.
Remove the pork from the marinade and lay it in the pan, then pour the marinade over it. Fold the leaf overhang over the meat. Lay them over the top of the meat, again generously overlapping the edges, and tuck them in around the sides. Cover the pan loosely with aluminum foil. Place in the oven and cook for about 4 hours, until the meat is thoroughly fork-tender.
To serve, transfer the pork to a large bowl. Pour the juices and marinade into a separate bowl and spoon off any fat that rises to the top. Using a couple of forks, shred the pork, discarding any meat that is too fatty. Pour the leftover marinade over the pork, then taste the pork and season with salt, if needed.
Serve with the tortillas, onion, cilantro, salsa and lime.
Ken Morris has been cooking for comfort for more than 30 years and learning in kitchens from Alaska to Thailand to Italy. He now cooks and writes from his kitchen in Napa. Email macmor@sbcglobal.net.
With our weekly newsletter packed with the latest in everything food.
An Easter message from St. Helena's Nancy Dervin.
Don't like pork? Try Cochinita Pibil Tacos for something different.
Rack of lamb is an alternative for an Easter dinner.
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