Season's eatings (+recipes)

Herb-crusted lamb rack with warm potato and white anchovy salad. Photo / Janna Dixon

Easter means so much to so many people, but whichever way you lean, the four-day "celebration" of Christ's death and resurrection is overflowing with symbolism. And, as with many symbolic occasions, when it comes to celebratory meals, we love to follow the traditions.

For obvious reasons, Northern Hemisphere customs and seasons have long driven the Easter banquet menu - lamb, baby vegetables, asparagus...

But we Southern Hemispherians find ourselves out of step with our northern cousins. And while in our domain Easter does still fall on the first Sunday after the vernal moon equinox, unfortunately our season does not co-operate.

However, we are nothing if not intrepid, so it's time to turn out some Kiwi culinary agility. Together with the idea that good food needn't be expensive or complicated, taking advantage of seasonal availability has always been one of our mantras.

Even in autumn there's a range of wonderful ingredients and ideas on offer that can make your Easter menu special - and still capture the symbolism of health, prosperity and regeneration.

Eggs have great symbolism and are probably Easter's No. 1 food choice. Try mixing it up a little by using salmon caviar, maybe some smoked fish roe. Or for a bit of refinement, quails' eggs are an interesting and affordable option.

Milk and cream also have great importance for their representation of nourishment and new life, so a lovely fresh goat's cheese or creamy ricotta are perfectly suited to Easter.

Bluff oysters are a wonderful inclusion for their seasonality and succulence and are always a favourite this time of year. The last of the figs are still coming through, and with their Middle Eastern origins and long history - they feature in the Old Testament - they can lend a particularly pious feel to an Easter menu.

Lamb is a symbol for new life and has long been acknowledged as the main meat for Easter dinner. At Nosh, we go to great lengths to secure the country's best - Waitaka lamb - and it is still prime-quality even this late in the year.

Another option is, of course, the trusty ham, which incidentally is more suited to Easter than our normal Christmas application. That's because pork is traditionally harvested in autumn and cured for winter.

Choosing a supplier of ham and pork is not only really important from an animal welfare point of view, but also for quality of product. Look for brands such as Freedom Farms' free-farmed pork and Harmony's free range. These products really do have superior flavour and texture because of how they are farmed.

And if the ham thing still feels a bit overdone in your household, use a little prosciutto somewhere else in the meal instead to introduce some European flavour, treat the tastebuds and feed the soul.

If you're feeling adventurous, rabbit is a wonderful meat that adds a "wow" factor and has great connotations, being the sacred animal of "Oestre" - Easter's namesake and the patron saint of fertility.

Above all, Easter is a time best spent with family and friends, so enjoy your Easter Sunday with this menu to excite the tastebuds and impress guests.

All the recipes are for four, but can all be easily up-scaled for more people with little extra work.

Better still, they can all be served in the centre of the table or plated depending on how you feel on an autumn Sunday.

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Bluff oysters and Regal salmon caviar with fresh horseradish and lemon dressing:

Make the dressing beforehand by mixing together the juice and zest of one lemon, one teaspoon of icing sugar, one teaspoon of freshly grated horseradish and a good slosh of olive oil. To serve, place the oysters in spoons or shot glasses, stir some regal salmon caviar into the dressing and spoon over.

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Goat's cheese and red onion tart:

An old classic, with "simple, done well" being the order of the day. Again, these can be made in advance as long as you moisture-proof the pastry by brushing on melted butter and letting it set before adding the topping.

For four people, take a 30cm x 12cm strip of pre-rolled puff pastry and score a line 1.5cm in from each of the long sides down the entire length.

Spread Matakana Cuisine's onion and rosemary chutney over the base, staying inside the lines. Dot the top with 150g of Chevre De Bellay ( goat's cheese log). Bake at 210C for 10-15 minutes, or until golden.

Cut into four and serve immediately with rocket and a drizzle of Sous Chef's raspberry balsamusse (you can also top this tart with a few bunched slices of prosciutto after it comes out of the oven for that "bit extra").

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Herb-crusted lamb rack with warm potato and white anchovy salad:

Before cooking, make the herb crust and apply it to the racks, assemble the potato salad completely, then all you have to do is cook the racks and warm the salad through.

If you cook the racks before the tarts (at 210C they should take six to eight minutes) they'll have time to rest, improving their tenderness and retaining moisture.

For the lamb: Season the racks with salt and pepper, sear quickly until just coloured and set to one side.

In a food processor, blend to a paste 125g soft butter, three-quarters of a cup of dry breadcrumbs, five tablespoons of chopped soft herbs, one teaspoon of crushed garlic, and some salt and pepper. Spread the mixture over the top of the racks and refrigerate until you're ready to cook them.

Bake in the oven until the butter has melted and a crust has formed (six to eight minutes), or until cooked as desired (we suggest medium-rare). Rest for five to eight minutes.

To serve, carve the racks into "pairs" of bones and serve with Essential Cuisine lamb jus.

For the warm potato salad: Boil enough salad potatoes for four people. You can use Wilcox's New Season Salad Potatoes for ease or cut some nadines (a nice waxy boiling potato) into even-sized pieces. Make sure the potatoes are only just tender and are not at risk of falling apart.

Once they are cooked and drained, add 100-150g of white anchovies (you can leave them whole or chop them a bit as you wish and add the amount that suits your taste), a good dose of olive oil and half a cup or so of semi-dried tomatoes.

Season well with lots of sea salt and fresh black pepper and set to the side until required.

Warm the salad and stir through half a cup of chopped parsley just before serving.

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Fresh figs and passionfruit with ricotta and lavender syrup:

The lavender is the tricky bit here; it's easy to make the syrup, harder to find the edible French lavender. You can use a drop of lavender essential oil or even some rosewater instead.

Both of these flavours are particularly nice in shortbread as well. Failing that, a simple, thin chocolate sauce will suit.

To make chocolate sauce, boil 50g sugar with 100ml of water for one minute, remove from the heat and stir in 100g of 75 per cent dark chocolate.

For the lavender syrup: Boil 100g of sugar, 100ml water and two sprigs of French lavender for 1 minutes. Set aside and chill well before serving.

To finish: Place a dollop of ricotta for each person in the bottom of the bowls you wish to serve in.

Top with fresh fig halves, the pulp from fresh passionfruit and drizzle with your lavender/rosewater syrup (if you're going to serve with the chocolate sauce, serve this in a separate jug or pool it in the bottom of the bowl for presentation).

Serve with some nice shortbread or your favourite biscotti.

James Patterson is manager and chef at Nosh Matakana, noshfoodmarket.co.nz.