Somehow when Easter is upon us, it does mean that we are away from Winter and closer to Summer. We are in that joyful mid-season which is Spring: The flowers are blooming and the sun is starting to shine finally. The symbolism of the Egg to represent that time is mesmerising: You have to crack the hard shell which can mimic the hard time and the frost during Winter, then still having the white which can be just a bit of more snow in order to discover the yellow Yolk at the centre, the Sun is back again.  Why do we call 'Sunny Side' up fried Eggs?

Fried Eggs make a nice little Brunch.

It springs to mind Spring! Anyhow Easter is a big time of celebration during the Spring: We have got Chocolate Eggs... I am not being blasphemous, but after a while of restriction, you get to feel the good. Religion or rituals are marking all of our lives even if you are an atheist. You do grow up in an environment which makes you celebrate a particurlar event which happened in the past that was said to be important.

Easter is a together time. 

You don't know why officially, for you haven't been a witness of any event but it is just the belief that drives the tradition. Easter is one of many. But it does bring a joyful moment at the end of a dreary period just like Eid after the Ramadan. There is the Lent period to go through after the Ash Wednesday. It is a time of fasting or eating very lean for forty days until you are allowed to indulge yourself again at Easter. 

The time for Tea Parties outdoors is here in Easter.

Therefore Easter marks the day when the penitence on oneself ends. The time for festivities starts. It does also mark when the seasons do change from a cold Winter to warmer days. Hence the food becomes more abundant with more sunlight and chlorophine within the plants giving them the energy to grow, the juice of life.

Asparagus are ripe during this time of the year.

While in Winter the selection of food being available is restricted, in Spring it does appear again upon one's table. With Supermarkets, we do tend to loose the value of what every season brings to us because we probably can have it all year round. However to respect seasonality brings life back to us, like when fish are young or reproducing, don't fish them just throw them back in the water. It is important to know your seasons: Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter.

 Red Spring Onions from the Garden.

With Easter there is a time for rejoycing a little with others. The garden hunt for the Eggs can bring a community closer together. Likewise sharing home made Cakes or Cupcakes gives everyone a smile upon their faces. Speaking of Cakes, Easter can be the perfect time when we can have Tea again in the great outdoors. Therefore sharing a Cake or many small ones or Muffins can be a way to do it.

Carrot and Walnut Cake.

There are many ingredients and products which are favoured during the Easter period: Chocolate, Eggs, Carrots, Lamb, Chicken, Asparagus, Spring Veg like Peas and Beans, Jersey Royal Potatoes, Hot Cross Buns, Simnel Cake... amongst many. 

Easter Lamb prepared ready to be roasted.

From the Christmas Season to Easter the Chocolate becomes a very proeminent ingredient. A lot of studies have been done around Chocolate to associate it with health benefits, believe it or not. One which I do not remember claimed that the energy given by a Chocolate tablet was equivalent to the one of a Beef Steak... Beggar's belief. Anyhow, like Christmas or St Valentine Day, Easter comes with a pletora of Chocolate to consume. The choice is there. It is a treat, an indulgence. A Chocolate Egg given to a child on that day may feel like an Orange or a Mandarin being foung in a Christmas stocking. Yet the pleasure can be increased by the chase for it in the house, flat or garden. Chocolate is the treasure trove during Easter. 

Chocolate and Banana Loaf Cake for Tea Time.

Now, like I said above, the Egg take a big part in the symbolisation of Easter. I remember in primary school when we decorated a classroom with painted emptied Chicken Eggs. It was an enjoyable moment when all pupils had to show their creativity but also to give them an expectation of the festivity Weekend to come. There was also an incentive once to grow Cress within the shell of Eggs before Easter. It was rather fun activities. 

Nowadays, I do inevitably enjoy eating Eggs during the Easter period. One of my favourite Brunches is grilled Asparagus topped with a poached Egg. It can be a Chicken Egg or a rich Duck Egg. Any fancy toppings can be the world in your Oyster from Truffle shavings to Parmesan, and Seasoning. During my childhood it would be the pleasing boiled Egg and Soldiers. Then in adulhood it may also be hard boiled Quail Eggs within a Lunch Salad.

 Quail Eggs, little Eggs full of gooodness.

Of course the Egg is versatile, therefore it can be used in many dishes: Ramen, Omelette, Egg and Cress Sandwich, Scrambled Eggs, to name a few without mentioning all the Sauces they are a part of like the Hollandaise, the Mayonnaise... and more but also the good old Egg is often being part of Cakes and Pancakes.

Pancakes, Normandy style.

Lamb and Chicken are also quite proeminent during this festivity period. My Father loved is shoulder of Lamb during Easter. He got it from a Market where a Farmer were doing them on a spin roasted wood fire. It was almost a tradition to get Lamb from that Man in Cherbourg, the Octeville Market. The scent of his food drew a crowd around his stand because all knew it was done in the old spitting way, long and slow. Now just roasting in the oven are replacing the tradition but it is also because we mainly can't do anything else. How many of us have the ability to spit fire their Mear? Only very few.

One of the roast Lamb dinner on a very lazy Easter day. My Man did it and of course, he didn't put the Veg because he couldn't find them in the fridges... What a coincidence when he doesn't like his Veg apart from Potatoes... Anyhow he does a mean Gravy, a very nice one.

If Lamb is rather traditional during Easter time not everyone can afford it therefore a roast Chicken is one of the alternative (if you are not Veggie or a Vegan that is). When I was a student, a nice leg of Chicken would do, or an entire Chicken to roast to feed me for about a week, making Sandwiches and Salads with the cold Meat, Chicken and Pasta Bake and using the Carcass to make Chicken Stock and therefore Soups. A roast Chicken makes my Sundays even now most of the time, at least once a month. Henry the fourth of France wanted every household of the country to be able to have Chicken every week on a Sunday, at the very least to be able to afford it. This was one of his pledges. It ended up with the popular French dish: La Poule au Pot.

  Roasted Norfolk Chicken for Easter. 

After the 'who came first the Chicken or the Eggs' conundrum we can speak about the Spring Vegetables which can make Easter feel like Easter. Hence I will only mention a few: Carrots, Peas, Beans, Asparagus and Jersey Royal Potatoes. Starting with root Vegetables, they tend to survive well with early Spring frost. But it is a rule of thumbs.

What's up Doc! Do I eat too many Carrots?

It is with some experience of growing Carrots that I know that they can still show up after Winter. This is a hardy Vegetable along with Turnips, Mooli which is also called Daikon and the Rutabagas. Carrots have health benefits including Vitamin A and C but also Nutrients like Calcium and Iron. At school in the cantine gratted Carrots as a Salad was a bit of a thing to have as a Starter. It is ever so simple to do: Add the Juice of one Lemon, a couple of tbsp of extra Virgin Olive Oil, a tbsp of whole grain Dijon Mustard ( this can be swapped by a good Dijonnaise which is milder, or a Dijon Mustard which contain Honey which has a little sweetness that goes well with the Carrots Salad), a good pinch of crushed Black Peppercorn, one finely chopped Shallot, a handful of chopped Parsley either curly or flat, optional are a teaspoon of Honey, and a tbsp of Sultanas. This enhance that simple Carrot Salad serving as a dressing up for it.

Carrots from my Garden.

Apart from Carrot Salads, I do like a good Carrot Cake. My Man is also partial to it. Then Carrots are good Vegetables to use as a side for the roasted main event. Either braised or roasted, enhanced with Cumin Seeds or Caraway ones, glazed with Honey or Mapple Syrup, decorated with toasted Almond Flakes, and chopped Parsley, Carrots are just a delight. I also do add fresh Thyme.

Roasted Chantenay Carrots and Baby New Potatoes with dry Thyme, Cumin Seeds and glazed.

So Spring Vegetables can play a very big part in an Easter Feast. We always speak about one Meat element and two Veg for daily Dinners but there it is a little like Christmas, you do feel the need to splash out to celebrate Easter. Peas are in season at that time of the year. I do like doing Peas in a French style way, but let us just say I am doing it my way, for there are so many interpretation of it that it could be branded French Peas Free Style. All I can say is mines are braised, with Lardons, chopped Shallots, optional added chopped Celery (tiny pieces), sometimes sliced and quartered little Carrots, a knob Salted Butter, a crushed Garlic clove. Render everything for a little bit. Then add Chicken Stock for flavour but also to finish the cooking of all the ingredients. A splash of good White Wine doesn't hurt in this dish but also the addition of Herbs (Mixed Herbs from the Provence). Last is to season to taste. Reduce a little and gently up until all the Ingredients sing happily together but are still colourful.

Simple Braised Garden Peas with Spring Onions. It doesn't have to be complicated to be nice. Peas can make a lovely side all the time.

 

You can always jazz up the Green Beans as much as you can do with the Carrots and Peas. All it needs is a little of imagination to not let them be just a boiled Side on the side. First the choices of Beans can be twicked for you do have White long Beans which you can grow or even Dark Purple ones. Now the trick is to part boil them for three minutes then to stir fry them with other Ingredients. In a little Olive Oil, put a sliced Garlic Clove, then add flaked Almonds to be toasted. It does take only minutes. The next step is to add some Lemon Zest before serving, a drizzle of Sherry Vinegar and some chopped Rosemary.

Flowering Rosemary from the Garden. It is always handy to grow your own. 

Asparagus are also available during Easter because they are ripe around that time therefore in Spring. You can potentialy get them all year round, but the Asparagus would have been forced to grow in other conditions than natural ones. I have nothing against it, but I do prefer promoting seasonality and farmers which respect it. That said, Asparagus are so enjoyable... Especially for a nice Brunch, during Easter, grilled Asparagus with a nice Duck poached Egg on top is delicious.

Now we have to mention Baby New Potatoes and Royal Jersey Potatoes. But I shall add to the list Anya Pototoes. The fact that the Potatoes are smaller at this time of the year hence Spring can make them perfect for Salads. However for roasting they are faster to reach a nice colour. You can also use them upon skewers for Sides or Picnics. 

 Baby New Potatoes from the Garden: The early ones.