What's on the springtime holiday table

Families throughout the area are preparing to welcome spring in the holiday spirit, with Sunday’s Easter celebration, followed by Passover next month. It’s the time to cherish age-old traditions and create new one with family and loved ones.
Holiday meals are an opportunity to explore the boundaries of your heritage. Try supplementing those tried-and-true recipes passed down from generation to generation with recipes that give a modern flair to the holiday feast.
Spring celebrations wouldn’t be the same without one classic centerpiece: leg of lamb. Whether roasted or grilled, a leg of lamb is a tried and true addition to the Easter or Passover table. As elegant as it is, it’s also quite simple to prepare.
For a new take on tradition, swap conventional mint jelly with a vibrant salsa verde or mint-pistachio pesto for a fresh, but familiar, flavor that complements the rich taste of lamb.

Roasted Leg of Lamb with Fingerling Potatoes, Leeks and Mint Salsa Verde
3-3 1/2 pounds boneless leg of lamb,
butterflied
2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
3 large leeks
2 pounds fingerling potatoes, halved lengthwise
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Mint Salsa Verde:
3 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
2 cups loosely packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
1 cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves
3 anchovy fillets
1 tablespoon capers, drained and rinsed
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons plus 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided

Position rack in lower third of oven (so roast will be in the middle) and heat to 325 F.
Prepare salsa verde. With food processor running, add garlic cloves. When finely minced, stop motor, remove top and scrape down bowl. Add parsley, mint, anchovies, capers, salt and pepper. Pulse until ingredients are finely chopped. Pour in 2 tablespoons olive oil and pulse to combine. Transfer about two-thirds of paste to small bowl and cover with remaining olive oil. Cover tightly and refrigerate until serving time, or up to 2 days.
Lay lamb flat on cutting board with fat side up. Trim fat to no more than 1/8 inch. Turn meat over and trim away any large chunks of fat from interior, but leave the rest intact. Be careful not to trim away connective tissue that holds meat together. Season lamb on both sides with 2 teaspoons salt.
Spread salsa verde paste over interior of meat to edges, rubbing into crevices. Reserve remaining salsa verde. Roll lamb up lengthwise into cylinder. Use kitchen twine to tie cylinder at 1 1/2-inch intervals. Tie another piece of twine lengthwise to secure ends. Allow lamb to sit at room temperature 1-2 hours before roasting. (If you plan to wait more than 2 hours before roasting, loosely cover and refrigerate roast, but bring to room temperature before cooking.) Pat outside of roast dry using paper towels before roasting.
Trim dark green tops from leeks. Halve leeks lengthwise and rinse well. Pat dry and cut into 2-inch pieces. Put leeks and halved potatoes in large roasting pan. Drizzle vegetables with olive oil, season with remaining salt and toss to coat. Spread vegetables around roasting pan in even layer. Place lamb roast on top, seam-side down and transfer to oven. Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into center of meat reaches 135 F for medium-rare, about 1-1 1/2 hours.
Transfer lamb to cutting board and allow meat to rest for 20-30 minutes, loosely covered with foil. (The internal temperature will increase to 145 F.) Bring reserved salsa verde to room temperature. Toss vegetables in roasting pan to coat in pan drippings. If they are tender and browned, set aside in a warm spot while meat rests. If not, return to oven to finish cooking.
Trim away kitchen twine and cut roast into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Arrange slices over vegetables. Stir salsa verde to incorporate oil, spoon it over meat and serve. Serves 6-8.

Classic Chicken Soup
6 quarts of water
1 whole chicken, plus extra package of wings (optional)
2-3 large carrots, chopped
3 ribs of celery, chopped
1 onion, cut in half
1 medium turnip or 2 small turnips, chopped
2 parsnips, chopped
1 bunch of dill
1 bunch of flat leaf parsley
1/2 tablespoon whole peppercorns
Few sprigs of thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon turmeric for color (optional)
Place chicken and vegetables in a 16 or 20 quart pot and cover with 6 quarts of water.
Make a bouquet garni with the fresh dill, parsley, peppercorns and thyme. Add bouquet garni to pot.
Bring pot to boil and let simmer for 1 hour. Skim the foamy stuff off the top several times while soup is cooking.
Remove chicken and veggies from pot. Allow soup to simmer additional hour with the cover on.
Shred chicken while still warm. Save about half to put into the soup, use the rest for chicken salad or sandwiches.
Allow soup to cool, and place in fridge. Skim any remaining fat off the top.
Reheat to serve. Add chicken, matzah balls and desired vegetables.

Bird’s Nest Chocolate Cupcakes
24 pastel-colored paper baking cups
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup Dutch process cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) butter, room temperature
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs
2/3 cup freshly brewed coffee, cooled to room temperature
Chocolate Pudding Frosting, recipe follows
Pastel-colored candy-coated chocolate pieces
Chocolate decorating decors

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line two 12-cup muffin pans with cupcake liners and set aside.
Sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder and baking soda and add to the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the butter, buttermilk and eggs and beat on low until moistened. Raise the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.
Add the coffee and beat until fully incorporated. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups, filling each about 3/4 full.
Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 22 to 25 minutes. Transfer the pans to wire racks and allow the cupcakes to cool completely.
Remove the cupcakes from the muffin pans and spread each with frosting, setting aside 1/2 cup of frosting. Place 3 candy-coated chocolate pieces on center of each to resemble eggs.
In small resealable food-storage plastic bag (or piping bag), place remaining 1/2 cup frosting; seal bag. Cut small hole in one bottom corner of bag; pipe frosting around chocolate pieces to create ridge on each cupcake.
Carefully spoon chocolate decors onto frosting ridge and around chocolate pieces to resemble nest.

Chocolate Pudding Frosting:
1 pint heavy whipping cream, very cold
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
One 3.9-ounce box dry pudding mix, chocolate fudge flavor

In a stand mixer fitted with a whip attachment, whip the cream at high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the sugar, vanilla extract and pudding mix and whip until smooth.