The Easter weekend is steadily approaching, and to give you some inspiration and holiday spirit, we’ve put together delicious, hearty, and wholesome Easter weekend recipes which you could recreate ahead of the Easter weekend or for Easter lunch.
Glazed baked ham
Homemade glazed Easter baked ham. Picture: iStock
Ingredients
For the ham
1 fully cooked (ready-to-eat) bone-in ham
For the sweet hot honey mustard glaze
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3 tablespoons sweet hot honey mustard, or brown mustard with honey
2 tablespoons brown sugar
About 50 cloves
For the honey thyme glaze
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons fresh thyme, or 2 teaspoons dry
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup honey
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Instructions
Let ham come close to room temp: Remove the ham from the refrigerator (still wrapped) a couple of hours before you intend to cook it so that it can get closer to room temperature. This will help it warm more evenly.
Preheat oven to 162°C.
Score skin and fat (if using an unsliced ham): Place the ham, fattier side up, in a foil-lined roasting pan. Score a diamond pattern in the fat with a sharp knife, about 1/4-inch to 1/2-inch deep, and the parallel lines about 1 1/2-inches apart. (You won’t need to do this if you’re using a spiral cut ham.) Do not score the meat itself, just the fat and any skin. You can score the fat as deeply as to where the fat meets the meat. If you want, you can first cut off any skin that might still be on the ham, but it isn’t necessary.
Insert cloves (if using): If using cloves (with the Sweet Honey Mustard Glaze), you can either put them in before applying the glaze or after. They look better if applied after, but it is easier to see the lines in the ham as a guide for placement if you put them in first. Place the cloves in the center of the diamonds to form a nice pattern around the top and sides of the ham (or along the edges of some of the precut slices if using spiral cut). Some people put the cloves in the intersection points of the scores. Do as you wish. You just want a nice pattern.
Prepare glaze: If using the sweet honey mustard glaze: Mix the mustard with the brown sugar in a small bowl. If using the honey thyme glaze: Mix thyme in with the hot melted butter and let sit for a few minutes. In a small saucepan on high heat, let the cider vinegar reduce down from 1/4 cup to 1 tablespoon, and remove from heat. Whisk in the butter and thyme. Add the honey, brown sugar, and Worcestershire sauce.
Apply glaze: Using a pastry brush, brush whichever glaze you are using over the ham. Only use about third of it (reserve the rest for later in cooking). Try to work the glaze into the scored lines.
Bake the ham: Place ham in oven. (If using a spiral cut ham, first wrap tightly in aluminum foil so that the ham doesn’t dry out while cooking.) Cook for 1 to 1 1/2 hours (check after 1 hour, will take longer if the ham is not at room temp to begin with), or about 10 minutes per pound, until the internal temperature of the ham is 43°-48° with a meat thermometer. (Note that the ham is already cooked when you buy it, all you are trying to do is heat it up for eating.) If using a non-spiral cut ham, baste the ham with the glaze a couple of times during the cooking. If you check on the ham and think that the glaze is at risk of getting too browned (like on the way to burnt), you can cover with a piece of foil.
Baste and broil: When the ham has reached the desired temperature, baste again. (If using a spiral cut ham, open up the foil to expose the ham before basting.) Regardless of which ham you’re using, place it under the broiler for few minutes to get some nice browning on the top. Take the pan out of the oven and brush the ham all over with pan juices. Cover with aluminum foil and let rest for 15 minutes before serving.
Roast chicken with garlic and lemon. Picture: iStock
Ingredients
1 chicken
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 large cloves garlic, minced
1 lemon, halved
3 sprigs fresh rosemary
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 232°C with rack in center.
Remove the giblets from the chicken then trim the excess fat from around the chicken cavity then rinse and thoroughly dry the chicken. (The drier the chicken, the crispier the skin.) Place the chicken in a roasting pan, baking dish or cast iron skillet.
Melt the butter with the garlic in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Brush the melted garlic butter all over the chicken. Season the chicken liberally all over (including inside the cavity) with salt and pepper. Place the two lemon halves and the sprigs of rosemary inside the cavity.
Tie the legs together with kitchen twine. (Keep it simple with a loop around each leg and knotted in the center.)
Roast the chicken for about 1 hour, basting it every 15 minutes by using a spoon and tilting the pan to collect the juices then spooning them atop the chicken, until the internal temperature reaches 73ºC. (When testing the temperature with a meat thermometer, insert it into the breast but do not touch the bone for the most accurate reading.) Rotate the pan after every time you baste the chicken to guarantee even cooking.
Remove the chicken from the oven and transfer it to a cutting board. Allow the chicken to rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
Combine cocoa and water in a small bowl; whisk until smooth. Cool.
Preheat the oven to moderately slow (160°C/140°C fan-forced). Grease a deep 22cm round cake pan, line base with baking paper.
Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until combined. Transfer mixture to a large bowl.
Stir in sifted flours and soda, then milk, vanilla and cocoa mixture. Pour mixture into prepared pan. Bake for about 1 hour 10 minutes or until cooked. Stand for 10 minutes before turning onto a rack to cool.
Meanwhile, to make milk chocolate frosting; combine chocolate and cream in a small saucepan, stir over a very low heat until smooth. Transfer to a bowl. Refrigerate, stirring frequently, until a spreadable consistency.
6Spread frosting over top and side of cake, decorate with chocolate eggs and coloured decorations.
Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C fan-forced. Grease a 1.5 liter (6 cup) ovenproof dish. Sift flour and spices into a large bowl. Stir in the brown sugar, and vanilla sugar. Make a well in the centre, stir in the melted butter, egg and milk and stir until combined. Spoon into greased dish.
Sprinkle the extra brown sugar over the pudding mixture. Combine golden syrup, extra butter and 1 1/2 cups (375ml) boiling water in a jug, stirring until butter has melted. Pour over the back of a spoon on top of the pudding mixture and bake for 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Top with chocolate eggs and bake for a further 3-5 minutes or until starting to soften. Sprinkle top of pudding with a little extra vanilla sugar. Serve with ice-cream.
Preheat the oven to 176°C. Grease a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with 1 tablespoon of butter.
Slice the log of crescent rolls into 12 rounds and place in an even layer in the baking dish.
In a pan, fry the bacon bits until golden, about 4 minutes. Add the remaining butter, leek and garlic until softened, about 5 minutes.
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, cream, thyme, parsley, cheese, salt and pepper. Add the leek and bacon mixture and mix well. Pour over the crescent rolls and bake for 35-40 minutes until puffed and golden.
