Easter Lamb for One

Travel Gourmet

March 31

I don't mean this as a sad heading, but I live alone, and that means inevitably many solo meals. However, it is quite unusual for me to be home alone over an Easter weekend, but with my birthday weekend not far away in April, when all the family will be here, and a particularly large amount of work to get through (I'm a freelance book editor), I'm certainly not short of things to do. Freelancing in the way I do means that my weekends are not always 'holidays' like most people's and I'm often working, but then I have the flexibility to head off to, say, an art exhibition midweek when it's quieter; I help with grandsons who live close by, which is a delight in my life. Simply put, I'm able to organise my life to fit with how it flows. And with my son and daughter calling or messaging frequently this holiday weekend, as well as my lovely friend Linda from sunny - or apparently not so sunny - Spain, then I'm not short of social interaction either. However, I may be eating alone but I wasn't going to miss out on my Easter lamb!

On Good Friday I had salmon for supper. My family weren't particularly religious but we always had fish on Good Friday; it's a tradition I've never let go of. Family traditions can be the bedrock of our lives; the grounding on which we base much of our security and sense of the world. So, an organic salmon fillet was taken from the freezer on Friday and a simple but delicious meal prepared in the evening. But for Sunday - Easter Sunday when tradition says lamb should be served - I bought a couple of organic lamb steaks from Waitrose (one for today and one to freeze), and then I thought about how I might cook it.

I've never given much thought before to why we eat lamb at Easter, but the blog has always been good at awakening a desire for more knowledge. I have to confess that my research was no more extensive that googling the question, but interesting none the less. It seemed to be generally agreed that lamb is eaten as Jesus is thought by some to be (metaphorically speaking) the Lamb of God. In the Gospel of John he refers to Jesus as the sacrificial lamb of God and thus eating lamb on Easter Sunday is seen as honouring Jesus' sacrifice in giving up his life on Good Friday.

I was also keen to cook some flageolet beans with it. When I made the melange of summer vegetables to go with lamb chops a couple of weeks' ago, it reminded me of how I often served lamb with flageolet beans back in the days of roasting legs of lamb on Sunday for the family. In those days I'd pour a tin of the beans into the roasting pan near the end of cooking, and they'd take up the gorgeous flavour of the roasting juices. Well, I couldn't do it quite like that today with one lamb steak but I gave some thought to how I could get close.

I decided to cook the lamb steak in a frying pan to collect the juices whereas usually I'd griddle it. I prepared the beans beforehand so that once the lamb steak was cooked, I could take it from the pan and then toss the beans in the juices. As far as improvisation goes in the kitchen, it worked pretty well! The meal ended with the treat of a Tartlette aux Pommes that I bought in the French Paul Bakery this morning, which I served with some vanilla ice cream.

Easter Lamb for One

1 lamb steak (about 150g)
olive oil
lemon juice
fennel seeds
oregano
salt and pepper
plus some roasted potatoes to serve

Flageolet Beans

1 x 400g flageolet beans
1 shallot
a little olive oil
a few fresh mint leaves

I trimmed the fat from the lamb steak a bit and then made a marinade. I put a little olive oil, a good squeeze of lemon juice, about half a teaspoon freshly ground fennel seeds, about a half teaspoon of dried oregano and seasoning of salt and pepper into a small bowl. I whisked it together and then added the lamb and turned it a couple of times so it was well coated with the marinade. I did this only about half an hour before cooking; I didn't want it to marinade for long which would change its texture, but have a chance to take up some of the flavours. I particularly like putting fennel seeds in the marinade, a trick learnt from my son, and I also heard that the Italians use them a lot as they're good for one's digestion.

I prepared the beans in advance - see below. When ready to cook, I heated the frying pan and when hot, added the steak. I poured the rest of the marinade over the top - but there was only a little; don't drown the steak in lots of marinade. I turned it and cooked until it was nicely brown in both sides. I tested it doneness with a meat thermometer and managed to succeed in taking it from the heat when it was still nicely pink in the middle - perfect!

To prepare the beans, finely slice a shallot and put in a small-medium sized saucepan with a little olive oil. Fry over a lowish heat until starting to soften, but not brown, and add the drained and rinsed beans. Give it all a good stir and cook for about five minutes on a low-medium meat so the beans heat through (they're already cooked) and are well mixed with the shallot. Add some seasoning of salt and pepper.

Then add some finely chopped fresh mint. Mix well and turn off the heat.

When the lamb is cooked and ready, transfer to a chopping/carving board to rest. Then add the beans to the remaining juices in the frying pan. Stir well to take up the juices and their flavour. Add a little more olive oil if they're too dry.

I only served about half of the beans; the whole amount would be too much for one. I saved the rest in the fridge and they'll go well with a salad for lunch with a bit of dressing.

I sliced the lamb before laying on the plate. It was perfectly cooked; just as I like it. I took roast potatoes from the oven and spooned the flageolet beans on too.

It looked very good and with a glass of red wine made a gorgeous supper.

You could, of course, easily double this up and cook enough for two people.

Then it was time for my dessert. I've actually made little apple tartlets like this (click here) but sometimes it's just easier and more of a treat to buy them from a good French patisserie!