Spring has arrived this year in great style. Warm days, blues skies and the burst of colour from the suddenly opening blossom and daffodils has put a spring in our step. Here at Peter’s Yard people are starting to enjoy their coffee and cake at the tables outside, sipping up the sunshine. Each season has it’s own simple pleasures and we want to encourage you to take time to enjoy them.
This time of year brings fresh things food wise with wild garlic to be foraged, elderflower to be collected later in May and herbs starting to appear in the garden. We can also start to plan our food around the season’s run of delicious fruit and vegetables from rhubarb and fresh asparagus to Jersey royal potatoes. For those of us who love to cook it’s the start of an abundance of fresh ingredients and a shift from hearty winter dishes to lighter fare.
Spring also brings the traditions of Lent and Easter. Whilst many here enjoy pancakes at the start of Lent, in Sweden we enjoy wonderful semlor; light, yeasty cardamom-scented buns filled with delicious marzipan and a vanilla cream. We make them here at Peter’s Yard Coffee Shop and Bakery following the traditional Swedish recipe of Jan Hedh, our uncompromising and passionate master baker. They are available through to Easter – perfect for “fikapaus” (a break with coffee, buns and company) in the sunshine outside Peter’s Yard.
Of course eggs are traditional at Easter which stems from the fact that hens start laying again as the days get longer providing an abundance of eggs for decorating and eating. In Sweden decorated eggs and feathers are hung from freshly cut birch branches in bud to create a bright, fresh in-door display. Egg decorating competitions, the giving and receiving of chocolate eggs and egg hunts are popular for children across much of Northern Europe but in Sweden there is another tradition which children follow. Dressed as witches (Easter hags) with headscaves, long skirts and red painted cheeks, young girls take paintings or drawings and knock on doors in the hope of receiving sweet treats in return. According to Swedish folklore during Easter the witches fly to Blue Mountain (Blåkulla) to meet the devil.
For many, Easter is an opportunity to break from work, gather with friends and family and take time to enjoy being in each other’s company, sharing a meal together around the table. The warmer weather and longer days means time to enjoy a walk or egg hunt before a generous lunch. It’s one of life’s simple pleasures at this time of year. If you are thinking of doing something similar, here’s a lovely lamb recipe that is perfect to slow roast in the oven. Serve it with new potatoes, fresh asparagus and free flowing conversation.
Herby rolled lamb
This uses two cuts of lamb rolled together but you could also use a boned leg or shoulder. We’ve used a mix of chives, parsley and mint all of which are coming into season now but you can adapt it with your favourite herbs.
For four people:
1 breast of lamb
1 piece of lamb neck
a handful of each of fresh chives, mint and flat leaf parsley
salt and pepper
butchers string
note a whole boned leg will serve upto 8
Method:
Lay out the piece of breast meat skin side down (or the boned leg/shoulder if thats what you are using).
Season with salt and pepper.
Chop the herbs roughly and spread over the meat.
Lay the piece of neck on the herbs (you may need to lay it at a slight angle to be able to roll the breast meat round it).
Roll and tie with butchers string.
Slow roast in the oven at gas mark 3 (150-160C) for four hours or longer (up to 6 hours) if it’s a large piece of leg. You may want to cover the meat part way through and add a splash of red wine for extra flavour.
Allow the meat to rest for 10-15 minutes (in the roasting tin or on a warmed plate and covered with foil) then carve into thick slices.
Serve with new potatoes and seasonal vegetables; or why not add a touch of Sweden to your lunch this year and make Janssons Tempation. Usually served as a side dish in Sweden, it’s a great alternative to potatoes dauphinoise.
Spring’s pleasures
Here at Peter’s Yard, we’ve been chatting about what we like most about spring and found so many things we loved we thought we’d share a few of them with you:
Wendy: daffodils, the birds singing as they go about nest making, the sound and smell of cutting the grass for the first time since winter
Kerry: children playing outside, the weather being warm enough to cook outdoors, the first shoots of spring flowers
Linda: the cherry plum blossom, fresh green buds on the trees full of promise, the weather warm enough to have lunch outside, English asaparagus
Georgie:watching the beautiful sunrises through the bakery windows, seeing groups of people sitting at the tables having a coffee outside “The Yard”, the daffodils in Middle Meadow, the tree outside the bakery coming into leaf
We wondered what you love best about spring? If you’ve got a moment to pause and share your favourite things then we’d love to hear from you. Let us know via Facebook or Twitter before April 30th for a chance to win a copy of our friend, Signe Johansen’s book Scandilicious: Secrets of Scandinavian cooking (which has a great semlor recipe in it by the way!) and some of our award winning sourdough crispbreads, perfect partners for cheese, smoked salmon or anything you fancy.
Competition Rules:
The prize is a Peters Yard jute bag containing Scandilicious: the Secrets of Scandinavian Cooking, 1 x 105g pack of mini crispbread, 1 x 350g pack of large crispbread, 1 x 300g tim of medium crispbread. Approximate value £30, no cash alternative.
The prize can only be shipped to UK mainland adresses so although overseas entries are welcome you will need to have a UK address to receive the prize (it would make a lovely gift).
Entries must be submitted by one of the following means (words or photographs):
- by email to linda@petersyard.com
- by posting a comment or picture on our Facebook page www.facebook.com/PetersYard under the item posted by us called ‘Spring Competition’
- by posting a comment or picture on Twitter mentioning @PetersYard and using the hash tag #PYSpring
- by posting a comment on this blog post
The entry that delights the judges the most will be selected by 5 May 2012. The judges decision is final. We reserve the right to publish the competition results and entries on all of the above media.
We look forward to hearing your thoughts on what makes Spring wonderful for you.
Best wishes and Happy Easter
Credits and copyright:
Herby rolled lamb recipe: Linda Williams
Egg decorations photo: Wendy Wilson Bett
Parsley photo: Peter’s Yard
All other pictures: Linda Williams
