Easter in French is known as “Pâques”. Most holidays in France center around food and Easter is no different. Why not celebrate this Easter with a French flair? Let’s explore a traditional French Easter meal. The French traditionally eat lamb (agneau) on Easter with yummy Potatoes Dauphinoise, served with a in season vegetable such as asparagus.
Let’s begin with the main course – lamb. Leg of lamb with bone-in is called a gigot or a boneless leg or shoulder (épaule).
Leg of Lamb – Gigot d’agneau
Preparation time: 15 mins | Cooking time: 40 mins | Total time: 55 mins | For 8 to 10 peopleIngredients:
1 leg of milk-fed lamb, 1.5 to 2 kg
A few cloves of garlic in the shirt or a few stalks of garlic
1 sprig of rosemary
1 sprig of thyme
1 tablespoon oil
Salt and pepper
Preparation:
- Caress the lamb with a brush dipped in oil.
- Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with thyme and rosemary
- Arrange in a baking dish surrounded by garlic cloves
- Bake at 200 – 230°C. Allow 20 to 25 minutes per kilo
- Once cooked, leave to rest for a good quarter of an hour with the oven turned off.
- Before serving, deglaze the juice from the meat.
Gratin Dauphinois
Le Gratin Dauphinois is the French method of baking potatoes in milk, cream, and cheese. This delicious side dish is a crowd pleaser and goes perfectly with Lamb.Prep: 10 mins | Cook: 95 mins | Total: 105 mins | Servings: 6 to 8 servings
Ingredients:
2 pounds baking potatoes,
peeled and cut crosswise into 1/4-inch slices
5 cups whole milk
2 cloves garlic, lightly crushed
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups crème fraiche (or sour cream)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
2 tablespoons unsalted butter,
softened 2/3 cup coarsely grated Gruyere cheese
Preparation:
- In a large saucepan over medium heat, bring the potatoes, milk, and garlic to a gentle simmer.
- Continue to cook the potatoes, gently stirring occasionally and adjusting the heat as necessary to maintain a simmer, until just tender, about 15 minutes. Be very careful not to overcook them as they need to hold their shape for layering in the pan.
- Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 F.
- Transfer the potatoes to a medium bowl with a slotted spoon, taking care not to break the slices.
- Drain the milk from the pan and reserve for another use.
- Add the heavy cream, crème fraiche or sour cream, salt, pepper, and nutmeg to the saucepan and whisk to combine.
- Gently return the potatoes to the pan.
- Heat the potato-cream mixture to barely a simmer (a few bubbles are fine but no more) for 10 to 15 minutes until the potatoes are very tender but not falling apart.
- Butter a large baking dish. Transfer the potatoes to the baking dish with a slotted spoon, layering them without breaking them up too much.
- Cover with the cream from the pan.
- Sprinkle the Gruyere cheese over the potatoes (if using).
- Bake in the oven until the potatoes are golden brown on top and the cream is mostly absorbed, about 50 minutes.
Asparagus and Egg
Ingredients:1 Bunch of asparagus 2 tablespoons olive oil salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 2 tablespoons shaved or grated Parmesan cheese 2 eggs Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
Preparation:
- Place trimmed asparagus in a large sheet pan.
- Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Roll the asparagus around to coat each spear in oil, then spread the asparagus in a single layer.
- Roast until tender and lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes (10 to 12 minute if your asparagus is thick).
- Remove from the oven and drizzle with lemon juice and Parmesan.
- Meanwhile, boil the eggs, about 5 minutes for a large-size egg and 4 minutes for a medium-sized egg. Run the eggs under cool water to stop them from overcooking. Peel them and slice horizontally.
- Serve the eggs with the asparagus.
This article was originally published on OuiPlease.
