Recipes for the Perfect Easter Lunch

6th April 2022

Want to try something new this Easter? Here are two of our new favourite recipes: Roast Lamb with Black Olive & Mint Dressing and Garlicky Chard and Panna Cotta with Poached Rhubard & Orange. Trust us - they taste even better than they sound. Read on for recipes for both...

Roast Lamb with Black Olive & Mint Dressing and Garlicky Chard

This dish is the essence of a spring Sunday lunch. It's a wonderfully light alternative to a traditional roast yet still feels close enough to the original to keep everyone happy.

Birdie Fortescue | Easter Lunch Recipe for Roast Lamb

Serves 4-6 people

Preparation time: 1 hour and 20 minutes

Ingredients:

One boned, rolled leg of Lamb or other roasting cut, such as trimmed rack, all with the fat still on
1 spring of Rosemary
Salt, for seasoning

For the dressing

100g black olives, pitted
1 bunch of mint, picked
2 sprigs of Rosemary, picked
100ml of the best quality extra virgin olive oil you have
15ml of good quality red wine vinegar
A pinch of salt to taste

For the chard

1 large bunch of Swiss or rainbow chard
4 cloves of garlic, finely minced
Extra virgin olive oil
(Optional) one chilli, deseeded and finely diced
Lemon zest to dress

Method

Start by liberally salting your lamb and then letting it rest for 10 minutes.
Place a pan on your hob and get it to a high heat.
Once the lamb has had time to absorb the seasoning, place fat side down in your hot pan and turn the heat down, slowly browning the meat. Take your time with this process and allow the fat to render, giving you a nice crispy brown exterior.
Once fully browned, place in the oven and cook for around 30-40 minutes depending on the size of your cut.
if you have a thermometer handy then check for an internal temperature of around 48 degrees celsius.
Allow the meat to rest for 10 minutes before carving.

Black olive and mint dressing

Coarsely chop the olives.
Finely chop the mint and rosemary and combine with the olives.
Add enough olive oil to loosen to a sauce-like consistency.
Finish with a touch of red wine vinegar to add sharpness and a pinch of salt for depth.

Garlicky chard

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil.
Spilt chard stems down the middle and finely chop chillis and garlic.
Place all of the chard into the boiling water, submerging just the stem.
Once the stem is soft, blanch the leaves (this will ensure the chard keeps its colour when cooked)
Drain the chard and dry thoroughly.
In a separate pan, gently warm the garlic and chilli.
Add the drained chard to the pan and coat completely in garlic and chilli oil.
At the last moment season with lemon zest and salt

Serve immediately with the carved lamb and drizzle the black olive dressing over the top.

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Panna Cotta with Poached Rhubarb & Blood Orange

This is a light and refreshing pudding with bitter notes. It's incredibly easy to prepare and the Panna Cotta can be made the day before. Simply leave it to set overnight and add the garnishes on the day.

Birdie Fortescue Blog | Easter Lunch Panna Cotta Recipe

Makes: 4 Panna Cotta

Preparation time: 15 minutes, overnight setting.

Ingredients:

Panna Cotta

200ml Double cream
125g caster sugar
1/2 a vanilla pod
Peel from 1/2 a lemon
1 and a half leaves of gelatine
250ml whole milk
A pinch of Maldon sea salt

Whip 100ml of the double cream to soft peaks and gently fold through the seeds of the vanilla pod, set aside.
Place the gelatine into cold water and allow to soften.
Gently warm the remaining cream, milk, sugar and lemon peel with the empty vanilla pod and bring to a gentle simmer (65 degrees c) then add a pinch of salt.
Squeeze excess moisture from the gelatine and add to the warm mixture, remove from the heat.
Ensure the mixture doesn't boil as it won't set properly.
Strain the mixture and fold through the cream.
Pour the combined mixture into moulds and allow to set overnight.

Poached Rhubarb and Blood Orange

50g sugar
50ml Campari
Juice of one orange
50ml water
2 stems of rhubarb, as pink as possible
1 blood orange, peeled and sliced into pinwheels

Combine orange juice, water, sugar and Campari in a pan and bring up to a boil to dissolve the sugar.
Cut the rhubarb into 3cm chunks and add to the liquid, turn the heat off and allow to steep in the warm mixture until the rhubarb has softened but still retains its shape.
When the syrup has cooled completely, add the blood orange pinwheels and dress with the syrup, making sure all the fruit is well coated.

To serve:

If you have set your Panna Cotta in moulds, gently place them into warm water to loosen and then turn out onto plates. If you have a large Panna Cotta, use a large spoon to carefully place scoops into each bowl, then serve with pink rhubarb, the oranges and syrup to dress the plate.

Read our top tips for styling your Easter lunch table here

Whether you are a dab hand with a brush or planning to get someone in, here are a few ideas of ways to enhance your space using our new paints.

Color swatches labeled with names from 'Birdie Fortescue' collection by Fenwick & Tilbrook.

Dining table setting with floral arrangement, candles, and plates in a room with a framed artwork on the wall.

Light and dark

Console table with decorative items against a green wall with floral artwork

This is a classic look for two reasons. Aesthetically speaking, splitting your wall into two distinct shades of light and dark – in this case, Nar above and Bure below – creates a sense of height and space in the room. The darker tone helps to ground the room while the brighter shade creates lightness and lifts the eye. From a practical perspective, the darker colour on the dado rail and wainscoting is also more forgiving for the wear and tear that our homes endure. It is also a very effective way to showcase paler coloured items of furniture like our Marble Top Crackle Console Table. We used our Coloured Wall Lights to link the lighter wall back to the rich tones of our Varuna Hand Tufted Trellis Wool Rug.

Handy hint: Rather than testing a paint colour directly on your walls, apply it to an A4-sized sheet of art card. That way you can audition the colour around your room and see how it changes with the light. You can also hold the painted card against your existing furnishings to test how they work together – and take the colour out with you when shopping for the room.

Beyond the pale

For those who think pale colours are a bit too safe or dull, please think again. For when used correctly they can create a wonderful space that is both warm and engaging. Here we have embraced the lightness, by using a combination of our Waveney paint above and Tud below. These hues provide a calm backdrop against which exquisite patterns like our Dumaloq Suzani can truly shine. The icing on the cake in this scheme is the sophisticated stripe of our Felipe Border pasted directly above the dado rail. Notice how it picks up on the accent colours within the Namda Felted Rug, and our Lattice Crewel Work Cushion.

Handy hint: Wallpaper borders are an easy way to create character and add a sense of structure to a plain room. If you are planning to paint a room just one colour, consider how a well-chosen border might add that extra something along your skirting boards and around the perimeter of your door frames.

Paper and paint

Here at Birdie HQ we love a patterned wallpaper but we also appreciate how four walls of it can feel a bit much. This is where a well-chosen paint comes into its own. For this scheme we combined the small-scale geometric tile pattern of our Sintra wallpaper with the deep calming

tones of our Wissey paint. The pair work wonderfully together creating a space that feels layered and considered. A bolder style such as this sits well with plainer pieces like our Abacus Floor Lamp and a treasured antique like this French 1970s Ulphostered Armchair, helping to bring out their sculptural qualities. Just a few judicious pops of pattern like our Crewel Work Cushion and the paintings of Lucy Innes Williams are all that is needed to complete the look.

Handy hint: When choosing your paint colours remember to consider how they will look against your flooring. For a more seamless look you may want to paint your walls and skirting boards the same colour. This works well in smaller spaces where you want to maximise the sense of space. However painting the skirting boards a different colour can be useful for balancing the transition from walls to floor – and adds an extra layer of interest to your scheme.

Gallery walls

Blue and red dining room with Fenwick and Tilbrook painted walls

If you own a very special piece of art, why not let it lead your paint scheme? Remember, you do not require clinically white walls to show pictures at their best. All you need is a sensitive eye and some thought as to what colours speak to you in the work and how they might translate into your room. This will ensure that your décor is complimenting not competing with your art. In our dining room, a rather splendid print by Keith Haring inspired our choice of Thurne for the richly painted dado and wainscoting, while we used Burn for the walls to allow the artwork space to breathe. Thurne’s bold red colour continues as an accent in the scheme from our Pumpkin Candlesticks and Ladder Stripe Napkins to our colourful Ziggurat Kilim Rug which provides a wonderful grounding for the space.

Handy hint: When your project is complete, be sure to transfer any small paint leftovers into a jam jar. This will come in very useful for touching up any future bumps or scrapes in the paintwork – and the paint will keep better as there is less air in the jar than the original tin. Should you find that you have a lot of paint left over, consider using it to paint the inside of a cupboard or an old piece of furniture that would appreciate the boost.

Neatly made bed with decorative pillows in a bedroom setting.

Which paint colour best suits my style?

Whether you’re drawn to soft, timeless neutrals or rich, characterful hues, our new paint collection has been carefully curated to bring warmth, depth, and individuality to your home. Each shade has been thoughtfully blended in collaboration with Fenwick and Tillbrook to harmonise beautifully with our furniture, lighting, and accessories - making it easy to create a cohesive and inspiring interior.

From grounding dark tones to uplifting pale shades, these paints offer endless possibilities to refresh and transform your home. Explore the collection today and discover the perfect colour to complement your style - available exclusively from Birdie Fortescue.