What would Easter be without a hearty menu? We have prepared the classic recipe ideas for you, from starters to desserts.
First a soup
Asparagus is probably the most popular summer vegetable of the Germans and should not be missing from any menu at Easter; it is ideal for a creamy soup. Wash and peel 250 grams of asparagus and cut the asparagus stems into three to four centimeter pieces. Then put a pot of salted water on and put the asparagus pieces in it. Cook the asparagus until cooked. Then pour off the asparagus water – but keep some of the water. Heat 40 grams of butter in a saucepan, mix in the flour, stirring constantly, until you get a golden yellow mixture. Extinguish the golden yellow roux with the asparagus water and let everything boil up once. Put an egg yolk and three tablespoons of sweet cream in the roux. Season the soup to taste with nutmeg, lemon juice, sugar, salt and a little pepper.
Good Friday dinner: pikeperch fillet in herbal stock
At Easter, Christians commemorate the death of Jesus Christ, whose blood sacrifice in the biblical narrative was to rid the world of sin. On the day of his death, his followers renounce meat; the Orthodox Church even renounces all animal products. A typical Good Friday meal is therefore a juicy fillet of fish, for example from pikeperch.
For four people it is recommended to get about 1 kilogram of fillets. First you have to wash them off, pat them dry and then salt and pepper them. Then wash a bunch of spring onions and cut them into rings; half of it is then distributed in the belly of the fish. Peel two carrots and cut them into slices about 0.5 centimeters thick. Then rinse a sprig of thyme and rosemary and a bunch of parsley and place in a high saucepan with the second half of the spring onions, the carrots and a bay leaf. Pour in a quarter liter of white wine and a quarter liter of vegetable broth, salt and pepper to taste. Simmer the liquid for ten minutes, while preheating the oven to 180 degrees.
Pour the hot broth over the pikeperch fillets in a roaster; then close the jar and let the fish cook on the middle rail in the oven for 20 to 30 minutes – if the gills can be easily pulled out, the fish is ready. Take it out of the brew and keep it warm. Now pour the brew through a sieve and let it boil down in the open pot by about a third of its volume. Cut 150 grams of butter into cubes and whisk until the sauce becomes creamy, then remove from the hotplate and season with salt, pepper and a dash of lemon juice. Finally, skin the fish and lift the fillets off the bones.
For meat lovers: Braised lamb
The heart of the Easter menu in many households is certainly the roast lamb: peel 12 small shallots and heat six tablespoons of oil in a roasting pan or large saucepan. Salt and pepper the lamb slices (around 200 grams per person), fry them brown on both sides in the hot oil and take them out. Now fry the shallots in the roasting set over medium heat. Add a teaspoon of sugar and two tablespoons of tomato paste and fry briefly. Dust a tablespoon of flour over it and deglaze with 200 milliliters of white wine. Pour in 400 milliliters of water and bring to the boil. Add the meat and cover everything over a medium to medium heat for up to 90 minutes, until the meat begins to detach from the bone. Brush a bulb of fennel and cut out the stalk. Now cut the rest into 1.5 cm wide columns. Meanwhile, heat a tablespoon of butter in a pan. Braise the fennel in it and cover over a medium heat, cook for around 15 minutes, seasoning with salt and pepper. Arrange the meat and fennel with the sauce and serve sprinkled with a little parsley.
Sweet bunnies get their money's worth at Easter
Not only the Easter bunny is happy about a juicy turnip cake: To prepare, preheat the oven to 180 degrees top and bottom heat. Grease a springform pan with butter and dust with flour. Peel the carrots and grate them finely until they reach 250 grams. Separate five eggs and beat the egg whites until stiff. Mix the egg yolks with 200 grams of sugar, a packet of vanilla sugar and a pinch of salt using a hand mixer. Mix 60 grams of flour with baking powder, stir in seven and with 200 grams of ground almonds. Fold in the egg whites, stir in another 200 grams of almonds and the grated carrots. Then pour the dough into the springform pan and bake in the preheated oven in the lower third for about an hour. Let it cool down and decorate it with icing and marzipan carrots or just icing sugar.
Easter braid without yeast
Yeast is the new toilet paper: the baking ingredient is currently sold out almost everywhere due to the corona pandemic, which is why it is worth trying a yeast-free Easter braid variant this year: 75 grams of sugar, 250 grams of curd cheese, 150 milliliters of buttermilk and 150 milliliters Mix the vegetable oil, then add a packet of vanilla sugar, a pinch of salt and a little grated lemon zest. Then mix 450 grams of flour with baking powder and add to the curd mixture. Now preheat the oven at 180 degrees.
Now divide the dough into three parts and shape it into three strands by hand, from which you then weave a braid. Place the artwork on a baking sheet (don't forget baking paper!), Brush it with an egg yolk and sprinkle it with almond leaves. Then put the whole thing in the oven for about 25 minutes.