Perfecting Easter Lunch: Lamb, Potatoes, and Gravy Tips from Top Chefs

 

Easter is not just chocolate bunnies and Easter eggs. Time to get the family together for a special Sunday lunch. It all boils down to serving lamb instead of beef or chicken if you want to keep the tradition alive.

Meat, fried potatoes and sauce are the protagonists, regardless of the vegetables chosen. We asked some of Nottinghamshire's top chefs for their best advice - plus some unexpected twists - on how to cook the perfect dinner that will delight your picky kids or perfectionist mother-in-law.

MasterChef: The Professionals star Louisa Ellis shared two of her techniques for cooking lamb. Nelson's Executive Chef Dan Coles has given his recommendations for the best roast potatoes. We asked Mark Osborne, co-owner of famous Notts pubs The Railway in Lowdham, The Radcliffe in Radcliffe-on-Trent and The Plow in Normanton-on-the-Wolds, for a really good sauce. lamb.

Louisa's lamb chops are one of her favorite Easter dishes.He said it was a nice cut of meat and great for special occasions. Because it retains all of its flavor after resting, I especially like cooking it on the bone. ". Meat is best grilled from start to finish to give it that delicious smoky flavor, but according to her, it's also delicious to be baked outside.

• Cook at 180°C to the desired temperature, then brush with foaming butter flavored with rosemary and garlic.
• Since every rack of lamb is a different size, investing in a temperature probe will help you determine if the meat is fully cooked. When it comes out of the oven, the thickest part of the lamb should be between 120 and 120 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Let the lamb rest for at least 10-15 minutes before slicing. After a few minutes, the lamb should be done, as the residual heat will continue to cook it.The center should be around 63°C. Most cooked red meats should rest for the same cooking time to retain maximum moisture.

The lamb knuckle, on the other hand, is flavorful and practically falls off the bone.

• The sauce tastes better and retains the juice if you first sear the lamb in a pan with some caramel.
• The leg of lamb is slowly cooked in a saucepan (or slow cooker) with red wine, rosemary, garlic, leeks, onions, carrots and fresh lamb or chicken stock.
• Put the lamb in the broth and cook in the oven at 140°C for 3-4 hours with the lid closed. or until the meat begins to separate from the bone.
• Serve with reduced red wine, sherry vinegar and glazed sticky brown cabbage.The natural fat of the lamb knuckle is easy to cut.
  
• Before serving, add a generous helping of mint sauce.

fried potatoes. That's a lot of roast potatoes - £100 a week, to be precise - when Nelson serves 320 roasts on special occasions like Mother's Day and 200 on a typical Sunday. The pub prefers the plump yellow Marquis potatoes, but any white powdery potato is fine if you can't find it in the shops.Albert Bartlett is a better potato.

• Peel and chop for texture. Otherwise, some will turn into puree when cooked, while others will remain raw.
• Make them a little bigger than a golf ball. When you cut them, try to get nice long edges.Obtain a flat, oblong surface by cutting lengthwise; This surface will turn nicely brown. Potatoes get crispier the more surface area they have.
• Cook in salted water until three-quarters thick, stirring occasionally, for 20 to 30 minutes. The pan should not be overcrowded. Avoid using too much heat when cooking.
• Drain or drain in a colander, then air the edges well. As it spreads on the shell, a bark-like outer layer forms that absorbs the oil.
• The sheet metal must be heated to 200°C. Use duck, goose or beef fat. Canola oil burns deeper than olive oil, making it a better choice for vegetarian roasts.
• Turn the potatoes well to distribute the oil. Boil 20 minutes. For the best flavor, the garlic bulb should be removed and crushed. Remove the outer layer of skin, leave the skin on the cloves, and then mash them. Add to pan with thyme and rosemary.Bake another 15 minutes. Take it out again, then gently mash it with a potato masher to get a larger crust.
• After another 15-20 minutes cooking time add Maldon Sea Salt.

Gravy Most roasts are judged by the baked potatoes and meat, but according to chef Mark Osborne, the gravy is just as important.The foundation is crucial for me. This approach - which requires forward thinking and planning - is used in bars. "It's easy, but it takes time."

• Roast the bone before placing it in a large skillet. You need to add red wine, then a layer of water and slow cooking in the oven. This will prevent the fats from mixing.
  
• Scrape the fat off the surface in the morning. Remove and reduce bone.