Somasenguptaeasterrecipesspicyroastlambwithclassicindi

SOMA SENGUPTA EASTER RECIPES: SPRING PEA SOUP! A GREAT START TO

Steps:

• Place cream, parsley and rosemary sprigs in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn off heat and set aside.
• In a medium soup pot or casserole, cook the bacon over moderate heat until browned and crisp, about 6 minutes. Transfer the bacon to a plate. Pour off the fat in the pot.
• In the same pot, heat the olive oil. Add the garlic, celery, onion, leek and sugar snap peas and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened but not browned, about 7 minutes. Add the chicken stock, 4 slices of the cooked bacon and the salt and white pepper. Simmer for 10 minutes and then add the thawed baby peas. Continue to simmer for a further 5 minutes until the vegetables are very tender, about 15 minutes total. Discard the bacon.
• Remove the rosemary sprigs and bring the cream and parsley leaves to a boil. Add the rosemary-infused cream to the soup and boil hard for a further 5 minutes. Turn off heat. Using a hand blender if you have one, liquefy the soup. Otherwise, carefully transfer to a blender and blend only until smooth, in batches if you need to. Adjust seasonings.
• Ladle the soup into bowls and drizzle with extra cream, or a few drops of olive or other scented oil. Crumble the remaining 4 slices of bacon into each bowl and serve.

SOMA SENGUPTA EASTER RECIPES- HONEY GLAZED HAM

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 350°F and arrange a rack in the lower third. Remove any packaging or netting from the ham. Trim away any excess fat, leaving about a 1/4-inch layer all over. Set the ham aside to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
• Line a baking pan with aluminum foil. Place the ham, cut side down, on the baking sheet and cover it with a piece of parchment paper. Tightly cover the ham and parchment paper with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes.
• Meanwhile, combine the remaining ingredients in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the butter melts and the brown sugar has completely dissolved, about 3 minutes. Set aside and let cool to lukewarm (the glaze should be the consistency of room-temperature honey).
• When the ham is ready, remove it from the oven and increase the oven temperature to 425°F. Discard the foil and parchment paper and, using a sharp knife, score a 1-inch-wide diamond pattern (don't cut more than 1/4 inch deep) over the entire ham.
• Brush the ham with a quarter of the glaze, return it to the oven, and bake uncovered for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, brush with another quarter of the glaze, and repeat every 15 minutes until all of the glaze has been used and a dark golden-brown crust has formed, about 60 to 75 minutes total. Let the ham rest 20 to 30 minutes before slicing.

SPICY LEG OF LAMB

Steps:

• The objective: A nice, pink, juicy leg of lamb has a final temperature of about 120 degrees F. Use a shallow roasting pan or baking sheet with a fitted rack. Elevating the lamb slightly off the bottom of the roasting pan allows the hot air to better circulate around the meat as it cooks.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Toast the spices: In a medium bowl, combine the cayenne, fennel seeds, dry mustard, paprika, red pepper flakes and cinnamon. Mix the spices and pour them out onto a baking sheet. Place the tray inside the oven for 1 minute to warm the spices and allow them to toast slightly. This will awaken their flavors. Remove the tray from the oven.
• Make the paste to coat the leg of lamb: In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, molasses and salt. Add the toasted spices and mix together to create a paste. Coat all sides of the leg in the seasoning paste. If you have time, allow the lamb to sit out for about an hour and come closer to room temperature. Alternatively, you can marinate the lamb like this for several hours (or overnight) in the refrigerator before cooking.
• Cook the lamb: Place the lamb leg in the center of the fitted rack on the roasting pan and place it in the center of the oven. Cook, undisturbed, for 30 minutes. Use an instant-read meat thermometer and take the temperature of the thickest part of the leg meat. Your meat thermometer should read about 85 degrees F. Cook for an additional 30 minutes. Ideally, the thickest part of the leg should come to about 118 degrees F. Remove the lamb from the roasting pan to a flat surface to rest.
• Make the sauce: In a medium bowl, whisk together vinegar and mustard. Place the fresh chiles on a flat surface and, with a small knife, cut them both into thin rounds, ribs, seeds and all.
• Pour off some of the drippings from the bottom of the roasting pan. Put the pan on top of a burner on your stove. Start a low heat under the pan and when the drippings begin to sizzle, add in the mustard, vinegar and fresh chiles. Taste for seasoning. Pour over the leg of lamb.
• Carve the meat: Begin carving at the loin end of the leg; you want to carve at a right-angle relative to the grain of the meat. Observe that this meat has lines almost like a piece of wood, aim the blade of your knife at a right-angle to the grain and slice thin pieces. Arrange the slices on a platter with the sauce.