We love to start the weekend with freshly baked buns (the scent of warm buns is possibly the best way to start any day), followed by a long lazy lunch with friends and family. Regardless of where we are in the world - together or apart - we always keep these rituals to feel anchored and grounded to each other and our family. In an ever-changing world with so much uncertainty, annual traditions like Easter provide a reassuring sense of collective belonging, enabling a sense of connectivity and nourishment.
The first is for a fabulous French Lentil Salad, inspired by one served at Tuba, a very chic seaside restaurant in Marseille. Toothsome lentils, crisp pickled carrots, sweet caramelised onions, crunchy nuts, tangy Dijon vinaigrette, and aromatic parsley hit the right balance of textures and flavours. It’s satisfying without being dense, and has enough ingredients to keep every mouthful interesting, making it wonderfully moreish.
This salad eats particularly well with our second recipe, Slow-Braised Lamb with Butter Beans and Shallots, a true showstopper we developed in France last summer. Upon serving, everyone at the table agreed that it was "the best lamb we have had in a long time".
It also happens to be incredibly easy to make. It’s so empowering to earn accolades - there’s a real sense of pride and satisfaction when you make something everyone loves. We are using our favourite cut of lamb - an oyster shoulder (which doesn’t have the ribs), cooked low and slow, with some lovely creamy butter beans to soak up all the flavours, and melt-in-your-mouth shallots that are so sweet and delicious.
For aromatics, we added lemon zest and juice, fennel seed, capers, rosemary, and garlic - simple ingredients inspired by the landscape of the Dordogne.
We wish you all a joyful and delicious Easter. Don’t forget to visit our website for our best Easter baking recipes - langbein.com
With love,
Annabel & Rose xxx
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French lentil salad
Serves 4
Ready in 40min
DF, GF
Ingredients
1 cup puy or beluga lentils
1 bay leaf
2 cloves garlic, skin on
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 onions, thinly sliced lengthways into crescents
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for your lentils
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves or 1 tsp dried
Flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ cup hazelnuts
½ cup chopped parsley.
Quick-pickled carrots
1 large carrot, peeled, finely diced
½ cup water
¼ cup white vinegar
2 Tbsp sugar
½ tsp salt.
Dijon dressing
3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp wholegrain mustard
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp maple syrup or honey
Flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Method
Preheat your oven to 180ºC fanbake.
First, pickle the carrots. Place diced carrots in a heatproof mug or bowl. Combine water, vinegar, sugar and salt in a small pot. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove from heat and pour this brine over your diced carrots. Place in the fridge to quickly pickle for half an hour.
While those are pickling, put your lentils on. Place lentils in a pot with water to cover generously. Add bay leaf, garlic, salt, pepper and a glug of olive oil. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook until tender and just cooked. You want them to still have a bit of bite rather than being mushy (20–25 minutes). Strain, removing the bay leaf and garlic cloves and set aside (don’t throw away the garlic, you are about to use it). Remove boiled garlic cloves from their skin, finely chop and place in a jar for your dressing. Add olive oil, red wine vinegar, wholegrain mustard, Dijon mustard and maple syrup or honey. Shake to combine, then season to taste. Pour most of this dressing over your cooked lentils while they are still warm.
Place sliced onions on an oven tray, drizzle with 2 Tbsp olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle over thyme and use your hands to evenly coat, then spread out in a single layer. Place hazelnuts on a separate baking tray. Place both trays in the oven. Bake hazelnuts until they smell fragrant and skins are cracking (about 12 minutes). When nuts are cool, place them in a clean tea towel and rub firmly between your hands to remove loose skins. Coarsely chop. Bake onions until they are soft, translucent and just starting to brown (15–20 minutes). Remove and leave to cool, set aside.
To assemble the salad place the lentils, carrots and onions in a serving bowl. Mix through the chopped parsley and pour over the rest of the dressing. Toss to combine. Check seasoning and adjust to taste. Prepared salad will keep in the fridge without the parsley or nuts for up to a week. Add the parsley and nuts just before serving.
Slow-braised lamb with butter beans and shallots
Serves 4
Ready in 4hrs
DF, GF, RSF
Ingredients
1 oyster shoulder of lamb (1.1kg-1.3kg)
2 × 400g cans butter beans, drained and rinsed
4 cloves garlic, smashed with the side of a knife and chopped
2 Tbsp capers
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
1 tsp very finely chopped rosemary
1 tsp fennel seeds
8 shallots, peeled and halved or quartered if large
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Preheat your oven to 150ºC fanbake. Use a sharp knife to remove visible fat from the shoulder, or ask your butcher to do it for you (see notes).
Place 1½ cups of water in a Dutch oven or deep roasting dish. Add the drained beans, along with garlic, capers, lemon zest, rosemary, and fennel seeds. Season with salt and pepper and mix to combine. Spread shallots on top, and then make a space in the middle and nestle the lamb on top. Mix lemon juice and olive oil together in a small bowl, and pour this over the lamb, rubbing it over the top and sides. Season generously with salt and pepper. Cover with a lid if you’re using a Dutch oven, and with baking paper and foil if you’re using a roasting dish. You want to ensure the dish is completely sealed. Place in the oven to bake for 3½ hours.
Check after 3 hours to ensure that the water hasn’t fully evaporated and the top of the meat is just starting to brown. If it looks good, pop it back in for the remaining 30 minutes. If it isn’t browning, remove the lid, add a little more water if needed, and increase the temperature to 200ºC and cook until the skin is brown and crispy and the lamb is fork tender - it should pull apart easily with a fork. You want there to be a little liquid in the base of the dish at all times, as this is what steams the lamb and keeps the meat moist.
Serve family-style from the Dutch oven/baking dish, accompanied by a big salad or some sauteed seasonal greens.
Notes
Trimming the fat from the shoulder is important so it’s not too rich and fatty (you can ask your butcher to do this for you, or you can do it yourself - use a sharp knife to remove the top layer of fat from the shoulder).
You can make this a day or two ahead of time. Cook for 3 hours, then chill and bake again at 180ºC with ½ cup of water until golden and crispy on top, about 30-40 minutes - the perfect twice-baked lamb shoulder!
You could also cook this in a slow cooker on low for 9 hours if you want to prep it in the morning and have it for dinner when you get home from work. Just reduce the water to ¾ cup as slow cooking does not produce the same evaporation as an oven does, and you will want to finish it in the oven to get crispy skin.
