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Meet Rhodora, her husband Jim and daughter Mathilda

Rhodora says: ‘We’re quite traditional at Easter – we love hot cross buns –but lamb is the centrepiece at a big feast where everyone gathers, it’s as if they’re coming out of winter hibernation! We usually have an Easter egg hunt on the Saturday, too.

‘Leg of lamb is great for when you have a lot of people – it can easily be shared around. Rosemary is the main flavouring, and we add lots of vegetables – broccoli, glazed carrots and piles of potatoes – and gravy of course. You can also roast off peppers and courgettes, and add garlic and olives for extra flavours. Cauliflower cheese is a firm favourite with Mathilda, so that usually makes an appearance as well.

‘Mathilda loves to cook, particularly stirring, and she likes handing us the vegetables. She stands next to Jim in the kitchen and gets stuck in.’

Full-on flavour

Stud the lamb with garlic so that it is infused throughout the whole leg as it cooks

Greek-style leg of lamb

An Easter showstopper that makes a great centrepiece to impress your guests.

Serves 8 | Ready in 1 hour 40 mins, plus resting Faff factor | GF EF your 5-a-day v

• 1 Asda Tender Lamb Leg (approx. 2.15kg)

• 1.2kg Maris Piper potatoes, cut into wedges

• 1 tsp oregano

• 5 tbsp olive oil

• 1 garlic bulb

• 4 sprigs rosemary

• 1 x 310g jar Asda Pitted Queen Green

Olives, drained

• 2 bay leaves

• 2 lemons, halved

• 2 x 200g packs Asda Extra Special Baby Peppers, halved and deseeded

• 1 large courgette, sliced into half moons

• 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

• 1 x 440g pack Asda Extra Special

Aromatico Tomatoes

• 1 x 200g pack Asda 40% Less Fat

Salad Cheese

• 250ml lamb gravy to serve (optional)

1 Remove the lamb from the fridge 1 hr before you are ready to start cooking. Preheat the oven to 200ºC/180ºC fan/gas 6. Put the potatoes into a large roasting tray, sprinkle over the oregano and season with salt and black pepper.

2 Drizzle over 2 tbsp of the oil and mix well. Peel 2 of the garlic cloves and slice into slivers. Make small incisions into the lamb with a small knife, then push in the slices of garlic. Cut 1 rosemary sprig into 6 smaller pieces and push these into some of the incisions.

3 Put the lamb on top of the potatoes. Brush the lamb with 1 tbsp of the oil and season with salt and black pepper. Scatter the olives around the lamb along with the remaining unpeeled garlic cloves, bay leaves, rosemary sprigs and lemon halves. Roast for 20 mins.

4 Put the peppers and courgette on a large roasting tray. Toss with the remaining oil and half the parsley.

5 Remove the lamb from the oven and carefully lift up the meat, then toss the potato wedges underneath to allow them to brown evenly. Put the lamb back on top and baste with the juices from the pan. Return to the oven and cook for a further 30 mins.

6 Repeat the step above, then return everything to the oven. Roast for a further 20 mins, adding the tomatoes to the vegetable tray after 10 mins.

7 Remove from the oven and transfer the lamb to a board. Squeeze the lemon over the lamb, then cover loosely with foil and allow to rest for 15 mins.

8 Crumble the cheese over the roasted veg, slice the lamb and serve with the roasted veg and gravy, if using, scattered with the remaining parsley and freshly cracked black pepper.

Leftovers tip: Use any leftover lamb to make a shepherd’s pie.

Meet Kristina and her husband Nick

Kristina says: ‘We are normally at home at Easter. We live near Richmond Park and it feels like spring is really starting. It’s a four-day Bank Holiday and we like to have a special dinner – something that isn’t your standard roast. We don’t eat meat, and we absolutely love salmon, and adding harissa and pomegranate really elevates it. I’ll do baby new potatoes with some mint, and lots of green vegetables.

‘We’ll have friends and family around, usually 4–6 people, maybe a dog running around. A couple of Easters ago we moved everything outside because the weather was so beautiful. I love laying the table for special dinners like this, with a smart tablecloth, cutlery, placemats, and a vase of daffodils. Then I’ll bring in the salmon on a platter, with its jewel-like colours, and everyone goes ‘Oooooh!’ All the food will be on the table and everyone can help themselves.

‘We have nibbles and bites first, with a little glass of fizz. But I think salmon goes very nicely with white wine. I buy all my wine from the big Asda in Roehampton, which is opposite where we live, so I’m sure I’ll find the perfect bottle.’

Kristina’s leftovers

Smash up potatoes, mix with some fried onion and garlic and make potato cakes, with a fried egg, for breakfast

Side of salmon with harissa and pomegranate

Make oven-roasted, honey-glazed salmon the star of the show, bejewelled with pomegranate seeds and fresh mint leaves.

Serves 6 Ready in 40 mins

Faff factor | GF EF |

• 4 tsp Asda Harissa Paste

• 4 tsp runny honey

• 1 lime, juice and zest (use 2 tsp juice)

• 800g Asda Boneless Salmon Side

• 1kg Asda Extra Special Baby Potatoes, halved

• 175g frozen peas

• 50g unsalted butter

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 1 large leek, sliced

• 2 Little Gem lettuce, sliced into quarters with the stalk still connecting the leaves

• 3 tbsp chopped fresh mint leaves

• 4 tbsp Asda 50% Less Fat Crème Fraîche

• 1 x 80g pack Asda Sweet & Crunchy Pomegranate Seeds

1 Preheat the oven to 200ºC/180ºC fan/ gas 6. Mix the harissa paste, honey and lime juice to make a glaze. Lay the salmon on a large roasting tray lined with baking paper. Brush with the glaze and roast for 20–22 mins, until just cooked and flaky.

2 While the salmon is in the oven, cook the potatoes in a pan of boiling water for 15–17 mins until tender.

3 Put the frozen peas in a bowl and cover with boiling water; set aside. Melt half the butter in a frying pan with the oil. Fry the leeks over a medium heat for 3 mins until softened.

4 Increase the heat and add the lettuce wedges to the pan, flat side down. Cook for 2–3 mins until starting to brown, then turn. Repeat with the other side. Drain the peas and add to the pan. Reduce the heat and cook everything for a further 1 min.

5 Drain the potatoes well, return to the pan, season and add the remaining butter and half the mint leaves. Gently mix.

6 Put the salmon on a serving board. Drizzle with crème fraîche. Scatter over the pomegranate seeds, lime zest and mint.

Meet Nicky and her daughter Giorgia

Nicky says: ‘I lived in Italy for over 30 years and fell in love with Italian food, as well as the country. I’ve been back in the UK for a few years now, but still love keeping up traditions. Cooking a spread at Easter for a family get-together was always a big occasion, with mountains of food – and roast goat as the main dish – honestly! I would always bake a pastiera di grano for tea. The dish originates from the Naples area – and I lived near the Amalfi Coast, south of the Bay of Naples.

‘The pie is quite the ritual at Easter. Everyone has their own secret twist, but the ricotta cheese, orange blossom water and creamy rice are considered true flavours of the region, so the dessert is a real source of pride. Families discuss the preparations at length – everyone plays a part. One of the big decisions is how many stripes of pastry do you put across the top, and how thick should they be.

‘Now I live in Somerset in the UK with my daughter Giorgia and, if we manage to gather at Easter, the pastiera di grano is definitely on the menu. I do recommend that you bake the pie a few days before Easter though, as it definitely improves with a few days of ‘rest’ to let all the wonderful flavours mingle together – and it keeps well.’

Italian pastiera di grano

Keep it neat

Use a palette knife to help you dust the pastry strips – cover the bits you don’t want to sprinkle with the blade.

This traditional Neapolitan tart is usually made with Italian pre-cooked wheat grains, but we’ve made ours with risotto rice, which is easier to find in the UK and just as delicious.

Serves 16 Ready in 2 hrs, plus cooling | Faff factor | V d

• 1 x 500g Jus-Rol Shortcrust Pastry Block

• 300g Asda Risotto Arborio Rice

• 25g unsalted butter

• 1 lemon, zest only

• 500ml whole milk

• 1 x 250g tub Asda Ricotta Cheese

• 300g caster sugar

• 3 large eggs

• 75g Asda Home Baking Mixed Peel

• 1 tbsp orange blossom water

• ½ tsp vanilla extract

• icing sugar, to dust

1 Line a 23cm round cake tin (with a depth of at least 4cm) with baking paper. Put the pastry on a lightly floured surface and roll out to the thickness of a £1 coin. Use the pastry to line the cake tin, then trim the edges, reserving any scraps for decoration. Chill the pastry for at least 30 mins or until needed.

2 To make the tart filling, put the rice in a large saucepan along with the butter, lemon zest and milk. Heat until it’s just about to boil and then simmer for 20 mins, stirring, until just cooked, adding a splash more milk if needed. Allow to cool, stirring occasionally to stop it from clumping.

3 To complete the filling, put the ricotta and sugar into a large bowl and beat with an electric whisk until pale. Beat the eggs in one at a time until blended. Use a wooden spoon to mix in the cooled rice along with the peel, blossom water and vanilla until combined. Chill for 2 hrs.

4 Preheat the oven to 160ºC/140ºC fan/gas 3. Roll out the pastry reserved from scraps and cut 8 strips, roughly 2–3cm wide and long enough to fit across the top of the tart. Prick the base of the pastry case with a fork.

5 Pour in the filling and use the pastry strips to decorate the top in a diamond pattern, pressing gently against the edge of the pie case to seal.

6 Bake for 1 hr. Cover with foil, then bake for a further 25 mins. Allow to cool in the tin. Remove and dust just the pastry strips with a little icing sugar before serving the tart.

Serving suggestions: Make this pud your Easter showstopper, served with a dollop of whipped cream. Leftovers tip: Leftover ricotta is great stirred through pasta or on crumpets.

No egg waste here!

The meringues use egg whites only, but we’ve used the yolks in the raspberry filling.