Plan an Easter table with dishes that can be prepared without a last-minute rush. Browse sweet breads, egg dishes, fresh salads, asparagus recipes, festive mains and desserts for family and friends.
Recipes
Roast the lamb shanks vigorously and braise them slowly until tender with root vegetables, red wine, stock and herbs. The meat is ready when it comes off the bone slightly; the sauce is reduced and seasoned only after braising.
Vanilla cream is bound with gelatin, filled into glasses and served with a fresh strawberry sauce after cooling. Gelatin must not boil; the strawberry sauce is added to the completely jellied cream.
Spring onions and goat cheese are placed on the base of the tart and are baked with egg-cream icing, thyme and a little honey. The bottom remains crisper when the spring onions are briefly sweated and the icing is not filled to the brim.
After the filling is done, roll out a soft yeast dough, fill it with curd cheese, apricot jam and almonds, roll it up and weave it into a wreath. Do not spread the filling all the way to the edge and cool the roll briefly before cutting it to keep the wreath in shape.
Wild garlic is finely sliced and mixed with cream cheese, yoghurt, lemon and olive oil to a spreadable spread. Do not process wild garlic warm and let it simmer briefly before adding salt, because cream cheese already brings spice.
Smoked salmon is served with cucumber and lemon, and an emulsified sauce made from dill, mustard, honey and olive oil. The sauce should be sweet, sour and mustard-like; just before serving, remove the salmon from the fridge.
Young potatoes are cooked in their skins, marinated still warm with vinegar-mustard dressing and later mixed with egg, radishes and herbs. Warm potatoes absorb the dressing better, while eggs and radishes are added only after cooling.
Grated carrots are mixed with eggs, oil and sugar, flour, almonds, cinnamon and baking powder are only briefly added and baked as muffins. Grate carrots finely and do not stir the dough for long after adding the flour so that the muffins remain loose.
After the dough has been made, it is shaped into bunny bodies, covered with egg and decorated with raisins. Weigh the dough pieces in equal measure and press down well to keep the shape in the oven.
Pre-cooked white asparagus is wrapped in ham, doused in a mustard and cream sauce and gratinated under Gouda. Drain the asparagus well to prevent the sauce from becoming watered down and the cheese from actually browning.
Leaf salad, radishes, cucumber and boiled eggs are served with a vinaigrette made of oil, apple cider vinegar and mustard. Salad and vegetables must be dry and the dressing is added immediately before serving.
A yeast dough made of flour, milk, yeast, sugar and butter is kneaded with raisins and orange, formed after the moulding time and baked with almonds. Use milk only lukewarm and dry raisins well; the dough needs sufficient walking time before and after the moulding time.
Sweat the carrots, onion and ginger, boil them in broth until soft and puree them finely with coconut milk. First, dose the ginger sparingly and balance the sweetness of the carrots with lemon juice and salt at the end.
The leg of lamb is seasoned with garlic, rosemary and lemon, slowly cooked with stock and finished browned with rosemary potatoes. A meat thermometer and the rest period after the oven are more reliable than a rigid minute.
QuichetTeippe is topped with green asparagus and spring onions, covered with egg and cream icing and baked under mountain cheese. Pre-cook asparagus and onions briefly and steam off to make the base crisp and the pour cut.
Hard boiled eggs are halved, the yolks are mixed with mayonnaise, yoghurt, mustard and herbs and filled back into the egg whites. The filling becomes smooth when the yolks are finely crushed; lemon juice and salt are added only afterwards.
Grated carrots, walnuts, oil and a seasoned batter are baked juicy and then spread with cream cheese frosting, which remains firm when cake and cream cheese are cool and the icing sugar is stirred only briefly.
The flour, yeast, lukewarm milk, sugar, butter and egg are used to make a soft yeast dough, which is braided and baked with almonds after processing. Milk and butter should only be lukewarm; a well kneaded dough that has gone twice produces the loose crumb.
Mix butter, sugar and eggs until creamy, then fold in the flour, baking powder and lemon and bake the dough in a greased Easter lamb tin. Grease and flour the tin carefully, fill only two thirds and let the cake stabilise completely before falling.
eggnog Tiramisu is a creamy Easter dessert without baking. Mascarpone, curd cheese, eggnog, espresso and spoon sponges are layered and refrigerated for several hours.
Guide
Easter dinner can look very different. Some families start the holiday with a cosy Breakfast, others plan a large Easter brunch or serve a festive lunch.
For breakfast, you can have Easter bread, braid, Easter bunny rolls, spreads and stuffed eggs. At brunch, you can combine sweet pastries with quiche, salads, a salmon platter and small hot dishes.
A classic Easter meal might include leg of lamb, braised lamb shanks, asparagus dishes and fresh spring side dishes. Cake, panna cotta or tiramisu will round off the festivities.
An Easter brunch combines breakfast and lunch. Therefore, the selection may be both sweet and savoury. Particularly practical are dishes that can be prepared in advance and served easily on a buffet.
For example, the following go well with a varied Easter brunch:
You don't have to offer anything of the sort. A combination of two sweet recipes, two to three savoury dishes and a fresh component is usually enough for a relaxed Easter brunch.
For many people, yeast pastry is simply part of Easter. A classic yeast braid, a stuffed yeast wreath or an Easter bread with raisins can be divided easily and goes well with butter, jam, honey or a sweet spread.
Carrot cake is also a popular Easter classic. Grated carrots make the dough particularly juicy and harmonise well with almonds, cinnamon, lemon and a creamy cream cheese frosting. carrot cake muffins are particularly suitable for brunch and buffet as smaller portions.
An Easter lamb cake is a nice eye-catcher on the coffee table. Desserts such as eggnog tiramisu or panna cotta with strawberries can be prepared the day before and only need to be garnished before serving.
In addition to bread and sweet pastries, savoury snacks are part of a successful Easter breakfast. Eggs often play the main role: Stuffed eggs with herbs can be prepared in advance and served in portions.
A wild garlic cream cheese spread brings fresh spring flavours to the table. Serve it with bread rolls, baguette, raw vegetables and boiled eggs. A salmon platter with dill and mustard sauce completes the buffet with a festive fish component.
Also Potato salad with egg and herbs, an asparagus quiche or a goat cheese tart can be prepared in advance and taste warm or lukewarm.
Lamb and asparagus are particularly popular ingredients for a festive Easter meal. A leg of lamb with rosemary potatoes is a good main course for several people. Braised lamb shanks take some time, but are easy to prepare and cook afterwards without any additional work.
Asparagus adds a fresh, seasonal touch to the Easter table. It works well in quiches, salads and oven dishes or baked with ham and cheese. Potatoes, fresh herbs, eggs, salmon or a light spring salad make suitable accompaniments.
If you don't want to serve meat, you can make a hearty goat cheese tart, asparagus quiche or carrot and ginger soup as the vegetarian centrepiece of an Easter meal.
Three well-coordinated courses are sufficient for a festive Easter menu. Choose a light starter, a main course that is as easy to prepare as possible, and a dessert from the fridge or a cake that has already been baked.
You can bake carrot cake, carrot cake muffins and Easter lamb cake the day before. Creamy desserts such as panna cotta and tiramisu need time to cool and soak.
Decorations, fresh fruit and delicate herbs should be added just before serving.
Yeast plait, yeast wreath, Easter bread and Easter bunny rolls need enough time to rise. Allow rest periods in addition to the actual working and baking time.
You can bake the pastry the day before and heat it up briefly the next morning. Alternatively, depending on the recipe, the dough can be left to rise slowly in the refrigerator.
Spreads, sauces, boiled eggs and many salads are easy to prepare in advance and keep covered in the fridge until serving.
Crispy ingredients, fresh herbs and salad dressings are added just before eating to preserve flavour and consistency.
For a larger brunch, not all dishes should have to come out of the oven at the same time. A warm quiche or tart is often sufficient if bread, salad, eggs, spreads and cakes are also offered.
Children are particularly pleased with small, handy dishes and recognisable Easter shapes. Easter bunny rolls, carrot cake muffins and Easter lamb cakes therefore fit well on a family-friendly Easter table.
Stuffed eggs, small pieces of quiche, vegetable sticks and mild spreads are also easy to eat. Children can help decorate muffins, cakes or rolls.
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