In 2 weeks we have Easter Weekend. Wouldn’t it be great to surprise
your family or friends with a different Easter menu ?
In Uruguay we have the „Semana Santa“, the Easter Week. Starts on
Monday the 30th of March and ends with Easter Sunday, the 5th of April.
One week holiday – time enough to cook yourself through all the menus.
The following days I will introduce you to 3 different menu’s, which
we often used and introduced to the cooking classes in our Panama time.
Each menu will contain a starter, a main and a dessert. They are easy
to make, very light and soooo delicious. Of course you can design your
own menus out of these 9 recipes coming up. All made for 4 persons.
The Starter:
Salmon and Cream Cheese Rolls on Pumpernickel.
Ingredients.
100 g salmon into thin slices
50 g cream cheese
50 g curd cheese
2 tbsp mixed herbs such as Chives, dill etc.
1 tsp honey, liquid
salt
pepper
4 slices of pumpernickel
2 tablespoons horseradish cream
red pepper
dill
How to do.
Lay out cling film .
Salmon – slightly overlapping lay slices on an area of approximately 15 x 20 cm.
Mix together cream cheese, curd cheese, herbs and honey and season with salt and pepper.
Pass curd mixture on the salmon, leave a margin of about 1 cm.
Roll up firmly with plastic wrap, then wrap again in cling film.
Set for at least 1 hour in the refrigerator.
Cut out 8 slices pumpernickel with a ring cutter. You can buy them in a roll already.
Spread horseradish cream on pumpernickel .
Unwrap the salmon roulade from the foil, cut into 8 slices and set one on each bread slice.
Garnish it with dill and red pepper.
Tips.
A glass of dry champagne goes well with it and opens the feast of your easter menu.
The Main:
Lamb Fillets with Veggie Cup Cake.
Ingredients, Cupcakes.
120 g of wheat flour
80 g butter
1 egg yolk
50 g of potatoes
150 g carrots
1 small onion
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
5 sprigs of thyme
2 eggs
100 g creme fraiche
salt
pepper
nutmeg
4 small carrots
2 tablespoons pine nuts
How to do, Cupcakes.
Combine flour, butter, egg yolk and a little salt;
Knead a pastry, refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.
Peel Potatoes, carrots and onion.
Slice potatoes, grate carrots and chop the onions.
Cook all for 2 minutes in a tablespoon of olive oil and season with thyme, salt and pepper.
Mix eggs with fresh cream, salt, pepper and nutmeg.
Roll out the dough thinly, put in small tart tins, about 10 cm diameter.
Distribute the potato-carrot-onion mixture on top, pour the egg mixture over it.
Wash, peel and quarter the 4 carrots.
Decorate the tarts with quartered carrots, pine nuts and thyme.
Bake for 20 minutes at 200C or 400F in your oven.
You might have to cover, halfway through the baking time, with aluminum foil.
Ingredients, Lamb Fillets.
800 g lamb fillet
200 g of fresh spinach
2 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons pine nuts
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar de Modena
100 ml of good red wine, the one you drink with the meal
150 ml beef bouillon
3 sprigs of thyme
2 tablespoons gravy
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
salt
pepper
nutmeg
How to do, Lamb Fillets.
Thaw lamb fillet if necessary, wash and peel spinach, peel garlic.
Toast pine nuts in a dry frying pan till they are golden brown.
Boil balsamic vinegar, red wine and beef broth with a sprig of thyme.
Reduce that mixture to half amount. Half way of reducing take out the thyme.
Stir in gravy and season with salt and pepper.
Rinse lamb fillets, pat dry, season with salt and pepper.
Heat the olive oil in a pan, then reduce temperature and fry lamb fillets, with garlic
and thyme, from all sides for about 2-3 minutes. Do not overcook, should be pink !
Take lamb fillets from pan and keep warm.
Add the spinach in the dripping fry for 2 minutes, fold in pine nuts and
season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
Decorate spinach on the plate, slice lamb fillets and serve with sauce reduction.
Serve the potato and carrot cupcakes aside.
Tips.
Serve a nice glass of your favorite red wine with it. For vegetarians: Leave the meat
and serve the cupcakes (one or two) aside the spinach. You will love it.
The Dessert:
Eggnog Cherry Goblet.
Ingredients.
200 ml whipping cream
2 EL Vanilla sugar
250 g sour cream
4 Chocolate Muffins
4 tbsp black cherry jam
3 tablespoons orange juice
150 ml eggnog, 20% Vol.
20 g milk chocolate
as desired sour cherries (from a jar) to decorate.
How to do.
Whip the cream until stiff, sprinkle in the vanilla.
Stir sour cream smooth then fold under the whipped cream.
Cut the muffins in half horizontally.
Stir cherry jam with some orange juice smooth and fill in tall glasses or goblets.
Best the diameter of the muffins. Otherwise cut the muffins to size.
Prepare the chocolate rasps.
Fill in half a muffin, then cream mixture, then remaining muffin and cream again.
Pour 2 tablespoons of eggnog over each glass and sprinkle with chocolate shavings.
As desired garnish with a cherry and serve well chilled.
Tips.
You can do the same with other fruit, like strawberry’s, or even make mixed goblets.
Enjoy !!!
