With Easter over, our thoughts turn, somewhat more reliably than the weather, to summer – and, for some of us at least, the pressing need to shed some winter insulation. The task is not made any easier by chocolate bunnies breeding like … well, rabbits. The only solution is to make a feast of the festive leftovers, then get back to the 5:2 diet or spin classes once consumed.
The Easter joint is likely to be your most pressing problem. Cold roast lamb freezes well (be sure to strip it from the bone first) but is also the traditional base for shepherd’s pie. Simmer slowly with any leftover veg and gravy or a good lamb or beef stock, season with Worcestershire sauce and tomato puree or ketchup, then top with buttery mash and bake in a hot oven until golden.
Cooked lamb is also lovely briefly fried in a hot pan until crisp and then served on top of hummus with pine nuts and a sprinkling of za’atar, and it is a good excuse to knock up a biryani, a sweet, nutty korma or a fiery rogan josh. A quick moussaka or a rich tomatoey ragu with lovely fat pappardelle will bring a welcome breath of southern sunshine to early April.
Stale hot cross buns call for fruity bread and butter pudding, perhaps with chocolate custard made with the excess eggs; but if you want do something a bit different, break them into crumbs, toast them in a little butter until crisp, and then sprinkle on top of ice-cream or Greek yoghurt – or simply dunk in egg (chicken, not chocolate), sprinkle with sugar and fry up for breakfast.
The surplus is most likely to be egg-shaped, though, and if you don’t want to find yourself handing out Mini Eggs to trick or treaters come Halloween, it is wise to melt down the stash now. Chocolate crispy cake is the classic choice, but tiffin, hot chocolate, mousse and brownies are all attractive options to make with kids, who might also enjoy smashing them into chunks to go in chocolate chip cookies.
Alternatively, you could lie on the sofa and scoff it all in one sitting – it is amazing how tempting salad will seem afterwards.
