We all like a reason to cook. Days need marking, they need to be remembered and making something good to eat usually helps us do that. Easter is special in that respect, and is celebrated by all kinds of people in all manner of ways. For me, it’s the first festival of my cookery year. It’s a chance to lay a table and generally make a fuss over spring.

Chef Gill Meller photographed in Lyme Regis for Observer Food Monthly. Photograph: Harry Borden/The Observer

An Easter menu can be anything you want it to be; there are no official rules, as such. We hear a lot about chocolate and sweets, but I can’t really see how they fit into a celebration of fertility, new growth and the cycle of life.

Lamb, you might think, is the perfect fit, but spring lamb is never as good as hogget or mutton. Hogget (a lamb that’s older than a year) will have spent months grazing out in rich open pasture. It will have seen a spring become summer. A young lamb, the sort that is more usually eaten over the Easter weekend, will have been born in winter and more than likely reared in a barn with little or no access to fresh grass. This simply can’t compare to an animal that’s spent a year in the field, to four seasons of flavour. I’m surrounding my centre piece of roast hogget with things from the sea. A soup of plump salty mussels the colour of turmeric, with fresh zesty green parsley, bacon and double cream. As well as a dish of oak smoked cods roe with chargrilled purple sprouting broccoli, both these ingredients at their absolute best throughout early spring.

Mussel, bacon & parsley soup

Mussel, bacon and parsley soup. Prop styling: Pene Parker; food styling: Marie-Ange Lapierre. Photograph: Jean Cazals/The Observer

Rope-grown mussels are one of the most sustainable forms of aquaculture. I like to add plenty of freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley to this soup, so it’s almost green with it.

Serves 4

fresh live mussels 1-1.2 kg

bay leaves 2 fresh

flat-leaf parsley 1 bunch, leaves picked and chopped, stalks reserved

butter 1 knob

pancetta 150g, cubed, or streaky bacon cut into pieces

coriander seeds ½ tsp, toasted and crushed

garlic 2 cloves, peeled and thinly sliced

leek 1 medium, trimmed, halved and thinly sliced

salt and freshly ground black pepper

fish or vegetable stock 500ml

double cream 150ml

Give the mussels a quick rinse under cold running water. You’ll need to pull away the grey beards and knock off any barnacles using the back of a knife.

Discard any mussel shells that fail to close after a tap.

Place a large heavy-based pan with a tight fitting lid over a high heat. Add 150ml of water and the bay leaves and parsley stalks.

When the water is boiling rapidly add the mussels, give the pan a shake and pop the lid on. Cook for 2-3 minutes, giving the pan a further shake, until the mussel shells are all open. Remove the pan from the heat and immediately tip the mussels out into a large colander set over a bowl to catch the cooking liquid. Don’t forget the bowl or pour the mussel liquor down the sink. It’s an important part of the soup.

Rinse the pan out and return it to a medium heat. Drop in the butter and when it’s bubbling add the pancetta or bacon and fry it slowly until it’s just beginning to crisp around its edges. Now add the coriander seeds, garlic and leek along with some salt and pepper, and carry on cooking, stirring occasionally, until the leek is soft and silky, about 8 minutes.

Add the mussel cooking liquor (except the last few drops which can sometimes be gritty) and the stock. Bring the soup to a simmer and cook uncovered for 5 minutes.

Pick the meat out of the mussel shells, keeping a few intact to garnish, and set to one side. Add the cream to the soup and bring back to a simmer. Now add the mussels and chopped parsley, and plenty of black pepper and salt to taste.

Arrange the reserved shells in the base of four warm bowls. Ladle over the hot soup and serve at once.

Whipped smoked cod’s roe with chargrilled purple sprouting broccoli

Whipped smoked cod’s roe with chargrilled purple sprouting broccoli. Prop styling: Pene Parker; food styling: Marie-Ange Lapierre. Photograph: Jean Cazals/The Observer

Cod caught in the spring can be carrying roe, it’s the season for it. Fresh cod’s roe is wonderful, but once salted and gently smoked it’s even better. I think it’s delicious sliced thinly and served on buttered brown toast with a squeeze of lemon and a twist of black pepper, but I also like to make a version of a traditional taramasalata, which I serve with charred purple sprouting broccoli, one of my favourite brassicas.

Serves 4

purple sprouting broccoli 500g

olive oil 2 tbsp

salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the whipped cod’s roe

stale country bread or sourdough 3-4 slices, crusts removed

whole milk about 200ml

smoked cod’s roe 250g

garlic 1 small clove, peeled and finely grated or crushed

extra virgin olive oil 150ml good quality, plus extra for drizzling

sunflower oil 100ml

lemon juice of ½

creme fraiche 2 tbsp

sweet paprika a good pinch, to serve

Begin by making the whipped cod’s roe. Tear up the stale bread and place it in a bowl, pour over the milk and allow the bread to soak for about 5 minutes.

Place the roe on a board and use a sharp knife to split the skin across its surface. Take a spoon and carefully scoop out the tender roe and place it into a food processor. Squeeze out the excess milk from the bread and add the soaked bread to the roe, along with the grated garlic.

Combine the oils in a jug, then switch on the machine and gradually trickle them in, a little at a time – the principle here is similar to making mayonnaise. Once all the oil has been combined, add the lemon juice and creme fraiche and whizz again. Taste – it shouldn’t need salt but a twist of black pepper won’t hurt. (If it becomes too thick – which can happen – add a little water to loosen.)

Trim away any very thick stems from the purple sprouting broccoli. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and drop in the broccoli. Cook for 1 minute then drain and allow the broccoli to steam off.

Heat a large ridged griddle pan over a high heat. Trickle the broccoli with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. When the pan is lovely and hot lay the sprouting broccoli in the pan in a single layer and cook for 1-2 minutes on each side, or until it’s taken on some colour and the thickest part of the stem is tender. You might need to do this in batches.

Spoon the whipped cod’s roe into a serving bowl, drizzle over a little more extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with the paprika. Arrange the hot chargrilled broccoli on a warm plate and serve with the cod’s roe for dipping.

We aim to publish recipes for fish rated as sustainable by the Marine Conservation Society’s Good Fish Guide

Roast leg of hogget, smashed white beans, anchovy, rosemary & parsley

Roast leg of hogget, smashed white beans, anchovy, rosemary and parsley. Prop styling: Pene Parker; food styling: Marie-Ange Lapierre. Photograph: Jean Cazals/The Observer

Hogget is well worth tracking down. Just ask your butcher to order you some in or get it direct from farmers’ markets or online. Try Pipers Farm or Coombe Farm. Of course, you could bring roast potatoes to the table with the hogget but these white beans are absolutely next-level delicious. They take up all the flavour and fat from the meat, and like good roasties there are never any left.

Serves 4-6

dried haricot beans 250g

hogget on the bone 1 leg, about 2-2.5kg

fresh rosemary 4 sprigs

garlic 4 cloves

lemon zest of 1

olive oil 2 tbsp

salt and freshly ground black pepper

onion 1

flat-leaf parsley 1 bunch, leaves picked, stalks reserved

fresh bay leaves 2

salted anchovy fillets 8

dried chilli flakes 1 large pinch

Preheat the oven to 180C fan/gas mark 6.

Put the haricot beans into a bowl, cover with water and soak for 12 hours or overnight.

Remove the hogget from the fridge a couple of hours before you intend to cook it. Strip the leaves from half the rosemary sprigs and finely chop them.

Take half the garlic and peel and finely chop this too. Mix the rosemary, garlic, lemon zest and olive oil together with some salt and pepper, and stir well to combine.

Place the hogget leg in a large, deep roasting tin. Spoon over the rosemary and garlic mixture, and massage it into the meat. Season the hogget all over with salt and pepper, place in the oven and roast for 30 minutes, then turn down the heat to 160C fan/gas mark 4 and continue to cook for the meat for a further 1 hour 15 minutes.

While the hogget is roasting cook the soaked beans. Place them in a pan and cover with plenty of fresh water. Add half the onion, the parsley stalks and the bay leaves, and set over a high heat. Bring the beans to the boil, turn the heat down to a gentle simmer and cook uncovered for 35-40 minutes, skimming occasionally. They should be nice and tender before you drain the beans. Reserve their cooking liquor.

When the hogget is ready, take it out of the oven and lift the leg out of the roasting tray onto a large plate to rest. Set the roasting tray over a low heat and when the fat is hot, thinly slice the remaining onion and garlic and add it to the tray along with the anchovies, chilli flakes and the remaining rosemary. Allow everything to sizzle away gently in the fat, stirring it as the onions and anchovies soften – this will also help to encourage any darker, stickier, caramelised bits from the base of the roasting tray to free themselves. Don’t let the onions catch or colour too much.

After 6-8 minutes of cooking add the drained white beans and stir well. Pour in about 500ml of the reserved cooking liquid, bring to a simmer and cook for 10-12 minutes. Take one third of the beans and whizz them up in a jug blender before returning them to the tray and stirring well. Alternatively, use a stick blender to rough them up in situ. Either way the beans want to be rich and creamy while still full of texture.

Continue to gently cook the beans until they are thick and spoonable. If they become too thick add a dash more cooking liquid. Chop the flat-leaf parsley leaves and add them to the beans along with any resting juices that have accumulated on the plate under the hogget.

Carve the hogget into thin slices and serve alongside the beans.

Dressed spring lettuce salad with croutons & leeks

Dressed spring green salad with croutons and leeks. Prop styling: Pene Parker; food styling: Marie-Ange Lapierre. Photograph: Jean Cazals/The Observer

A soft butterhead lettuce salad makes a perfect accompaniment to a rich roast like the hogget. I like to add new season watercress and a few floral tender herbs if I can find them, particularly chervil and dill. Lightly steamed leeks in a mustardy dressing give the salad extra body, and a scattering of croutons add texture.

Serves 4

leeks 2-3 small to medium, trimmed, rinsed and sliced into 1cm rounds

salt and ground black pepper

butterhead lettuce 1 large

watercress 2 good handfuls

chervil 1 small bunch, coarser stems removed

dill ½ small bunch, coarser stems removed, finely chopped

flat-leaf parsley 1 small bunch, leaves picked



For the dressing

English or dijon mustard 2 tsp

sugar 2 tsp

cider vinegar 1 tbsp

creme fraiche 2-3 tbsp

olive oil 2 tbsp

dill ½ small bunch, coarser stems removed, finely chopped

salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the croutons

olive oil 2 tbsp

good country bread or sourdough 4 slices, crusts removed and torn into small chunks

garlic 1 small clove, whole

thyme 2 sprigs, leaves stripped

To make the dressing, thoroughly combine the mustard, sugar and vinegar in a small bowl. Stir in the creme fraiche, olive oil and the dill. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Set a steamer with water in it over a medium-high heat and when it’s ready, add the sliced leeks and pop on the lid. Cook until just tender, 4-5 minutes. Remove the leeks to a plate and trickle over half the dressing. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

To make the croutons, place a medium pan on the heat and add the olive oil. When it’s hot, throw in the bread pieces and toss them through the oil. Add the garlic clove and the thyme leaves and fry, turning frequently, until crispy and golden on all sides. Season with a pinch of salt then take the pan off the heat and set aside.

Separate the lettuce leaves and wash them and the watercress carefully. Dry and toss with the chervil, the dill and the parsley leaves. Arrange the salad leaves and herbs on a large serving platter. Spoon over the dressed leeks and scatter over the croutons. Season everything lightly and trickle over the remaining dressing.

Lemon & rhubarb trifle

Lemon and rhubarb trifle. Prop styling: Pene Parker; food styling: Marie-Ange Lapierre. Photograph: Jean Cazals/The Observer

Rhubarb is actually a vegetable, but we tend to think of it as a fruit. It’s the first non-fruit fruit of the year and as soon as it appears I start using it in the kitchen. This trifle is one of the best I’ve made. I love the lemon custard and the way it works with the sharp rhubarb. The recipe makes enough for the following day too, and who doesn’t like trifle for breakfast?

Serves 6-8

For the sponge

butter 125g, softened

unrefined caster sugar 125g

free-range eggs 2

self-raising flour 125g

poppy seeds 2 tsp

For the rhubarb

rhubarb 750g, trimmed and rinsed

water 125ml

lemon juice and zest of 1

unrefined caster sugar 100g

For the lemon custard

whole milk 300ml

unwaxed lemons juice and zest of 2

unrefined caster sugar 125g

cornflour 1 tbsp

free-range egg yolks 6

double cream 400ml

To finish

double cream 400ml

unrefined caster sugar 25g

flaked toasted almonds 2 tbsp

poppy seeds a scattering

Heat the oven to 160C fan/gas mark 4. Line a medium-sized baking tray with baking parchment. To make the sponge, cream the butter and sugar together in a mixing bowl until pale. Beat in the eggs, then sift over the flour and sprinkle in the poppy seeds. Fold the sponge mixture together carefully, then spoon it onto the prepared baking sheet and level it off – it shouldn’t be deeper than 2-3cm. Place in the oven to bake for about 15-20 minutes or until the sponge is golden and cooked through.

To cook the rhubarb, slice the stems into 3-4cm pieces and tumble them with the water, lemon zest and juice, and the sugar, and turn out onto a baking tray. Arrange the rhubarb in a single layer if you can, and pop into the oven to bake for 25 minutes or until the stems are tender but are still holding their shape. Set the rhubarb aside to cool.

To make the lemon custard, pour the milk into a heavy based saucepan with the lemon zest and set over a medium heat. Bring this mixture to simmer.

Combine the sugar, cornflour and the egg yolks in a bowl and whisk until well combined. Pour over the hot milk, whisking as you do.

Return this mixture to a clean pan. Gently cook the custard until it starts to thicken up. Make sure you keep stirring to avoid overcooking it. Take off the heat and stir in the lemon juice. Pass the custard through a sieve then allow it to cool. Whip the cold cream until it forms soft peaks then fold or whisk the cream into the cooled custard.

Assembling the trifle is easy. Slice the sponge cake up into squares or fingers and arrange these over the base of large serving bowl, preferably a glass one.

Arrange the cooled roast rhubarb over the sponge and spoon over all the pink roasting juices.

Pour the chilled lemon custard over the rhubarb then place the trifle back in the fridge to chill for an hour or so. To finish, whip the cream and the 25g of sugar to smooth soft peaks with a whisk. Don’t overwork it or it will go grainy. Spoon the soft cream over the custard. Return the trifle to the fridge until you’re ready to serve it.

Sprinkle over the toasted almonds and a few more poppy seeds before bringing to the table.

Gill Meller is a food writer and group head chef at River Cottage