Dan's Papers - March 21, 2008 -

A festive dinner for Easter is as much a celebration of spring as it is a religious holiday. Spring is a season of second chances and the season's ingredients signal renewal and change. The winter doldrums are behind us, and we look forward to spring lamb, asparagus, baby artichokes, morel mushrooms and fava beans. Accustomed as we are to some of these foods being available throughout the year, I welcome these first foods of the season.

Agnello in salsa de menta is a luscious recipe for roast lamb, possibly the most popular food on the Easter table. To keep with Italian traditions, accompany the lamb with asparagus Roman-style, and complete your holiday meal with creamy ricotta cheese cake.

Whichever food traditions you plan to follow for the holiday, have a happy and delectable Easter.

1 leg of lamb about 6 pounds, boned
6-7 cloves of garlic cut into thin slivers
1 teaspoon coarse (kosher) salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
10 whole cloves
1/4 cup olive oil
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

Mint Sauce (Can be prepared up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated)
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1-2 tablespoons superfine sugar
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
Pinch coarse salt

1. Have the butcher bone a leg of lamb.
2. Mix garlic slivers with salt and pepper.
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Open the meat and sprinkle the inside with the garlic mixture and the whole cloves. Roll the meat to enclose seasonings and tie it like a salami. Sprinkle meat with salt and pepper.
4. Pour oil in a roasting pan and put in the meat. Bake about 1 hour, depending on the thickness of the meat rather than the weight. The meat should be cooked to the medium rare stage or pink (about 135-140 degrees) never rare.
5. Meanwhile prepare the sauce: Snip the mint leaves with kitchen shears and put in a serving bowl or sauceboat. Add the freshly squeezed lemon juice, the wine vinegar, sugar and a pinch of salt. Use a wooden spoon to mix well. Refrigerate until needed then bring to room temperature.
6. Test the lamb for doneness by pressing into the meat with your thumb. The roast should be slightly springy but firm to the touch. Let rest for 8-10 minutes before slicing.

To serve: Remove strings; slice the lamb into medallions and serve overlapping slices on a warm serving plate. Serve with mint sauce.

1 1/2 - 2 pounds medium asparagus
1 large clove garlic, peeled
Coarse (kosher) salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
About 1/3 cup lemon juice
2 eggs, well beaten
1 teaspoon all-purpose flour

1. Break off bottom part of asparagus where they bend naturally. Soak asparagus in a large bowl of cold water for about 20 minutes. Drain and cut the spears into 1 1/2 inch pieces.
2. Place asparagus with the peeled garlic in a non-stick skillet and cover with fresh cold water. Bring to the edge of a boil. Season with salt and pepper then let simmer, partially covered, for 5-6 minutes until tender but still firm. Discard garlic.
3. With slotted spoon transfer asparagus to a warm serving dish, reserving the liquid. Add lemon juice to the liquid and reduce by about one-third over medium heat.
4. Beat eggs in a small bowl with a pinch of salt. Slowly whisk in flour, being careful to prevent lumps. Add some of the warm liquid from the skillet to the eggs and stir to mix. Return the egg mixture to the liquids in the pan stirring slowly with a wooden spoon over very low heat until the sauce thickens, about 8-10 minutes. Pour sauce over asparagus and serve.

RICOTTA MASCARPONE CHEESECAKE
Prepare this luscious Italian-style cheesecake the day before serving.
Makes 10-12 servings

1/3 cup zwieback or tea biscuit crumbs
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon plus 1 1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 1/2 pounds fresh or whole milk ricotta
6 large eggs
1 cup mascarpone
Grated peel from 1 lemon
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1. Break 4-5 zwieback or tea biscuits in a food processor with steel knife and process until a fine crumb. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9 x 3-inch spring form pan and coat the pan with 3 tablespoons crumbs mixed and 1 teaspoon sugar. (Reserve remaining crumbs to coat top of cake when ready to serve.) Wrap a length of heavy-duty foil large enough to encircle the baking pan to make it waterproof.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. If using whole milk ricotta drain in a sieve over a bowl for several hours in the refrigerator. Place ricotta in the bowl of an electric mixer with flat blade and beat at low speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Loosen the cheese as necessary if it clumps in the blade. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat until smooth. Add remaining sugar and continue beating until mixture is very smooth. Beat in the mascarpone, the lemon peel, lemon juice and vanilla. Pour into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
3. Place the pan in a Bain-Marie (inside a baking pan no higher than the cake pan) and add hot water to the larger pan to within an inch or so of the top of the larger pan. Place in oven on a baking sheet and bake for one hour and 40-50 minutes. After 40 minutes or so of initial baking time place a tent of foil loosely over the top to prevent browning. Test for doneness with a cake tester or thin knife until it comes out clean. The top of the cake should nevertheless shimmer a bit. Remove from oven and let cool in the water bath. Lift pan from water bath and remove the foil. When completely cool refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
4. To unmold, slide a thin knife around the cake edges. Release the sides of the spring form pan and transfer to a cake plate. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

*Note: If fresh ricotta is not available you can use commercial whole milk ricotta. It will be necessary to drain the ricotta in a sieve over a bowl for several hours in the refrigerator before proceeding with the recipe. It may also need longer cooking time.