It is said that on the last supper Jesus and his apostles ate lamb, and from there originates the tradition to eat lamb during easter. Originally lamb was part of seder, traditional Jewish feast that marks the beginning of the Jewish holiday of passover.
The Christian tradition of eating lamb during easter originates from Greek culture. It is a fairly new tradition here in Finland, mainly because back in the 60’s and 70’s there was very few sheep farms in Finland. Even while being a fairly new tradition, lamb has definitely earned its place in Finnish easter dinner as well.
And so at least one of our easter meals have always included lamb, even though we enjoy eating it throughout the year. This year (like many years before) we made lamb ribs. Partly because just before easter we had a pretty bad stomach flu, and didn’t dare to invite over the whole family to avoid contagion. And when there is just the two of us having a dinner, one rib is just the perfect amount for us.
I prefer adding a lemon gremolata topping on the lamb, but since my husband is not a big fan of it, we left it out this time. If you want to try it out, you can find the recipe here.
If you cover the lamb with gremolata, you need to remember to wrap the ribs in foil while cooking them – without it the fresh topping might burn and taste bitter.
With the lamb we served asparagus, creamy garlic potatoes, blackcurrant jam and fresh melon salad.
Recipe for lemon gremolata can be found from here.
Recipe for creamy garlic potatoes can be found from here.
PORTION: 2 servings
TIME TO MAKE: marinating the lamb for 24 hours, baking 20 minutes. Preparing the creamy garlic potatoes for 15 minutes and about an hour in the oven. Asparagus fried in butter for 10 minutes.
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 lamb rib
Marinade:
- ½ dl olive oil
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- ¼ dl lemon juice
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoons of fresh finely cut thyme
- 2 teaspoons of fresh finely cut mint
- 3 tablespoons of fresh finely cut parsley
- pinch of black pepper
Marinate the meat for 24 hours.
Preheat the oven to 220°C (428°F)
Wipe excessive herbs off the rib and quickly fry it in a hot pan on either sides.
Place the rib in pan lined with oil and butter and stick a thermometer through the thickest part of the rib.
Put the pan in into the oven and let it stay there till the temperature is about 55-60°C (130-140°F). Cut the rib in slices and serve.
Tags: creamy garlic potatoes lamb lambkin ribs lemon cremolata
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