Easter : Lamb of the Season

When our family gathers on Easter Sunday, our holiday dinner will revolve around a leg of young lamb roasted with garlic and rosemary. We must have spring vegetables at this feast--tiny, fragile-skinned new potatoes; baby carrots and peas; succulent green shoots of asparagus, and tender lettuce from our garden in a salad redolent of green onions and herbs.

We will have hot cross buns for tradition’s sake and, to please the children, a lamb-shaped cake, fleeced with sprinkled coconut and given a collar of pink icing roses, raisin eyes and a candy mouth. And there will be sweet, red strawberries in an egg-rich dessert.

We may not revel in seasonal changes of produce in the way that our parents did, because a supply of “spring” vegetables and fruits is available in the markets year-round. But we can still welcome the season with an eager palate and a symbolic savoring of the earth’s first delectable bounties.

The most elegant of the spring vegetables is asparagus. And, like peas and corn on the cob, asparagus has the best flavor when it is picked where it is grown and cooked without delay. To know that fresh garden-to-table flavor, one must have one’s own asparagus patch.

MENU Asparagus and Ham Rolls Roast Leg of Lamb With Herbs and Spring Vegetables Strawberry Roll Suggested Beverages: Sparkling Wine for first course; Pinot Noir for Lamb

GAME PLAN Day Before: Prepare Asparagus and Ham Rolls, cover tightly and refrigerate until ready. Marinate lamb. Prepare lamb stock. Bake cake for Strawberry Roll. 3 Hours Before Dinner: Begin roasting lamb. Clean vegetables. Clean strawberries and combine with sugar. 1 1/2 Hours Before Dinner: Add vegetables to lamb. 30 Minutes Before dinner: Remove lamb from oven, increase temperature to 375 degrees and brown Asparagus and Ham Rolls. 15 minutes before dinner: Whip cream and assemble Strawberry Roll Make gravy for lamb. Just Before Serving: Carve lamb and put on serving platter with vegetables. Pour gravy into boat and serve alongside.

STAPLES

Butter

Flour

Milk

Salt

Lemon pepper

Lemon for zest

2 ounces Parmesan cheese

Olive oil

Dijon mustard

Garlic

Black pepper

White wine

Bay leaf

Cornstarch

5 eggs

Superfine sugar

Cake flour

Powdered sugar

Vanilla

SHOPPING LIST

Asparagus spears

Whipping cream

1/4 pound baked or cooked ham

Bunch green onions

Bunch celery

1 large carrot

Bunch parsley

Fresh thyme

Fresh tarragon

Fresh rosemary

1 (5- to 7-pound) leg lamb, boned with bone and meaty scraps reserved

12 small boiling potatoes

12 baby carrots

1 pint ripe strawberries

ASPARAGUS AND HAM ROLLS

The ham-and-asparagus casserole recipe here is a delicious solution for using up an Easter ham, and provides still another way to enjoy asparagus in springtime.

1 1/2 dozen asparagus spears

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup flour

2 cups milk

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper

1/2 cup whipping cream, whipped

2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

6 slices baked or cooked ham

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Rinse asparagus and snap off tough root ends. Pare with vegetable peeler, if necessary. Bring water to boil in blanching kettle or other large kettle. Immerse asparagus in water. As soon as water returns to boil, remove asparagus and drain. Set aside.

Melt butter in heavy saucepan. Blend in flour. Stir continuously over low heat until mixture bubbles, but do not brown. Gradually add milk, stirring continuously. Cook and stir until sauce thickens. Season to taste with salt and lemon pepper. Remove from heat and cool.

When cooled thoroughly, fold in whipped cream and lemon zest. Spoon small amount of sauce into shallow baking dish. Divide asparagus into 6 bundles of 3 stalks. Roll thin slice of cooked ham around each bundle and place in baking dish, open end down. Spoon remaining sauce over top. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Bake at 375 degrees until sauce is bubbling and knife will just pierce asparagus stalks, 15 minutes. Place in broiler about 4 inches from heat and broil until top is browned lightly, 2 to 3 minutes. Do not overcook.

Makes 6 servings.

Each serving contains about:

264 calories; 878 mg sodium; 68 mg cholesterol; 20 grams fat; 10 grams carbohydrates; 11 grams protein; 0.38 gram fiber.

ROAST LEG OF LAMB WITH HERBS AND SPRING VEGETABLES

Though potatoes and carrots are called for, you can substitute any fresh spring vegetables you like. Wise use of your butcher can make this dish easier. Have him trim the fat and fell--the tough, thin outer skin--from the leg. The leg can either be completely boned or just have the hip bone removed. If it is completely boned, have the butcher butterfly the meat into 1 long piece, about the same thickness throughout.

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves

1 teaspoon chopped fresh tarragon leaves

1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup white wine

1 (5- to 7-pound) leg lamb, boned with bone and meaty scraps reserved

1 clove garlic, sliced

1 bay leaf

2 to 3 green onions and tops, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 carrot, scraped, chopped

Bunch parsley

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper or some peppercorns

12 new potatoes, scrubbed

12 baby carrots, scraped

2 tablespoons cornstarch

Combine oil, mustard, minced garlic, thyme, tarragon, rosemary, black pepper, salt and 1/4 cup white wine in flat pan, preferably glass or glazed earthenware. Place meat in pan. Spoon marinade over top. Cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight or up to 2 days. Turn meat once or twice.

Before roasting lamb, place reserved lamb bone and meat scraps and water to cover in stock pot. Bring slowly to boil, skimming surface until no more foam appears. Add sliced garlic, bay leaf, green onions, celery, carrot, parsley, salt and pepper. Simmer, covered, 2 to 3 hours.

Strain stock and discard solids. Refrigerate. Discard solidified fat from top.

Remove lamb from marinade. Roll tightly, tucking in meat where necessary to make roll. Tie securely with kitchen string. Place lamb on rack in roasting pan along with any remaining marinade. Add remaining 1/2 cup wine to pan. Roast, uncovered, at 350 degrees, basting occasionally. Allow about 25 minutes per pound for boned and rolled leg of lamb. Meat thermometer, when inserted in thickest part, should register 130 to 140 degrees for rare lamb, 140 to 150 degrees for medium and 150 to 160 degrees for well done.

When 1 hour cooking time remains, bring potatoes and carrots to boil in pot of salted water. Drain. Place vegetables around roast. Pour hot lamb stock over. Drizzle remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil over roast. Continue roasting until meat is cooked.

Transfer roast and vegetables to hot platter. Cover. Let stand 20 to 30 minutes before carving. While roast is standing, make gravy from drippings in pan. Use defatting cup to separate fat from liquids. Pour defatted liquid into measuring cup. Add 2 tablespoons liquid fat and enough lamb stock to make 2 cupfuls liquid. Pour into roasting pan.

In bowl mix 2 tablespoons cornstarch with 1/4 cup cold water. Stir mixture into pan liquids. Bring to boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and continue to cook and stir until thickened. Season to taste with salt and pepper, if desired.

Makes about 6 servings of lamb and vegetables.

Each serving contains about:

535 calories; 805 mg sodium; 147 mg cholesterol; 20 grams fat; 31 grams carbohydrates; 51 grams protein; 1.30 grams fiber.

STRAWBERRY ROLL 5 eggs, separated

3/4 cup superfine sugar

1/4 cup cake flour

1/4 to 1/2 cup powdered sugar

2 cups ripe strawberries, sliced

2 cups whipping cream

Vanilla

Grease jellyroll pan. In bowl beat egg yolks well. Gradually add 1/4 cup superfine sugar and continue to beat until yolks are light. Add flour and mix well.

In bowl beat egg whites until stiff but not dry. Fold into egg yolk mixture.

Spread batter in jellyroll pan greased and lined with greased wax paper. Bake at 400 degrees until wood pick comes out clean, 10 minutes. Loosen cake carefully from sides of pan. Sift about 2 tablespoons powdered sugar over top. Cover with clean kitchen towel. Turn towel-covered pan upside down, turning cake out onto towel. Remove wax paper. Quickly trim crisp edges of cake with sharp knife.

Roll up cake and towel, starting at narrow end, sprinkling more powdered sugar on towel to make rolling easier. Let cake cool in towel on rack. Unwrap and remove towel.

Meanwhile, sweeten strawberries with remaining 1/2 cup superfine sugar. Let stand. In bowl ship cream until stiff. Sweeten with 1 tablespoon powdered sugar and drop of vanilla.

Immediately before serving, unroll cake and spread with part of whipped cream. Drain any juice off sweetened strawberries. Spread even layer of drained berries on cream. Re-roll cake. Cut and serve each serving with more whipped cream and strawberries.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Each serving contains about:

488 calories; 80 mg sodium; 337 mg cholesterol; 34 grams fat; 39 grams carbohydrates; 7 grams protein; 0.27 gram fiber.

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Kitchen Tips

* Choose only fresh asparagus with firm, compact tips and little buds that are still close together. Stalks should not be limp. One pound will make two to three servings.

* Before storing asparagus in the refrigerator, cut a thin slice from base of each stalk. Wrap ends with damp paper towel or stand in very shallow water. Do not store for an overlong period before cooking.

* To prepare for cooking, break off root end of each spear by bending stalk and snapping off at place where it is brittle. These ends are tough and dry out after picking.