While sitting down with my family and friends this Palm Sunday we were discussing what we will be serving up next weekend for our Easter Sunday family lunch. The following recipes are what we decided on and I thought why not share them with those of you who are pondering on the same thought. Our menu is as follows:
Cucumber salad with creme fraiche dressing, Roast leg of lamb with pancetta, sage and rosemary, and Fresh strawberries with sour cream and brown sugar.

CUCUMBER SALAD WITH CREME FRAICHE DRESSING

A fresh cucumber salad is a great starter to any spring meal. This particular recipe is from “The Martha Stewart Cookbook, collected recipes for every day.”

Ingredients:
6 long cucumbers (seedless)
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
2 cups Creme Fraise
1/4 to 1/2 cup Japanese rice vinegar
Coarse sea salt and white pepper
1 teaspoon sugar
1 bunch of fresh dill, finely chopped

Preparation:
Wash and slice the cucumbers 1/8 inch thick. Salt the cucumbers and let stand in a colander for 30 minutes to drain. Rinse off the salt and pat dry with paper towels.

Place the creme fraiche in a large bowl. Add enough vinegar to thin it to your liking.
Add the salt, pepper and sugar. Mix in the cucumbers and blend well. Add the dill.

*Makes 10 to 12 servings

ROAST LEG OF LAMB WITH PANCETTA, SAGE AND ROSEMARY

This outstanding lamb dish is from the #1 International Bestseller, “The Naked Chef” by Jamie Oliver.

Ingredients:
1 leg of lamb (about 4 and a half lb.)
1 handful of fresh sage
1 clove garlic
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Juice of 1 lemon
Olive oil
1 handful of fresh rosemary
3 oz pancetta, sliced

Recipe:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. With a knife, follow the lamb bone down about 4 inches (you are just making a tunnel where you are cutting the meat away from the bone). Do this from the top end and the bottom end. Pierce the skin at an angle with a sharp pointed knife 6 or 8 times at random around the leg.
Where you have made the incisions, open them up a bit by poking your fingers down them to make a bit of space.

Using a mortar and pestle smash up half the sage with the garlic and 1 teaspoon of salt. When it’s pulped, add the lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, the other half of the sage and the rosemary, roughly chopped. Stuff the mixture into all the incisions and gaps you have made with the knife. Then stuff the pancetta deep into the gaps along the bone and the incisions. This gives a lovely fragrant flavor to the meat. Put a little oil in a hot roasting tray, add the lamb, and roast it turning every 30 minutes until cooked.

STRAWBERRIES WITH SOUR CREAM AND BROWN SUGAR

Ingredients:
1 cup of fresh strawberries per serving
2 Tablespoons of sour cream (regular or light, although regular tastes better!)
1 Tablespoon or more of light brown sugar

Preparation:
Top your strawberries with sour cream and sprinkle with brown sugar
Enjoy!