Easter is a great time of year to spend some quality time with the kids. Why not try out some of our ideas to help add sparkle to your day.

Our delicious slow-roasted lamb is ideal for an Easter Sunday dinner, and we’ve got some recipes made especially for little hands too. It’s great to get young children involved in the kitchen, so they can learn the value of home cooking from an early age.

The beauty of this recipe is in its simplicity. All you have to do is throw together the marinade, press over the lamb and pop in a hottish oven. Then let it cook away for hours – basting occasionally whilst you get on with your day! This works best with shoulder of lamb, but is delicious with leg, too. Just keep an eye on it, as it may need basted a little more often to prevent it drying out. The meat will be meltingly tender and will just fall off the bone: the agony is in the waiting! And don’t be scared of the anchovies: they are lamb’s best friend!

Slow Roasted Lamb with a Rosemary, Lemon, Garlic and Anchovy Crust

Joint of lamb(shoulder or leg, 2-3kg – will serve 4-6)

4 cloves of garlic 6-8 anchovy fillets

Zest of 2 lemons

2-3 rosemary sprigs, leaves picked and finely chopped

Olive oil

Glass of white wine, or water if preferred.

Preheat the oven to 160°C mPrepare the marinade by pounding together the garlic, rosemary, lemon zest and anchovies in a pestle and mortar. Season with pepper (the anchovies are salty enough) and loosen with a little olive oil. Slash the surface of the meat lightly, then massage in the fragrant marinade. Place the meat in a roasting dish, cover with foil, pop in the oven, and… wait! Baste the meat every hour or so – just when you remember. Pour in the water or wine after a couple of hours.

After four hours the lamb should be ready – the meat should literally fall off the bone. Take it out of the oven and leave to rest in a warm place, covered in foil. Make gravy by adding a little hot water to the roasting tin, then scraping to release all those little burnt bits. Add a little stock (or better still, the water you have used to cook your vegetables in) and a splash of wine, then allow to reduce to the desired consistency. Check for seasoning.

You shouldn’t need to carve the meat, you should just be able to pull it from the bone. Serve with seasonal greens, and creamy mash, or maybe a dauphinoise.

When dinner's in the oven, here are some fun things to make with the family:

Easter Nests (Kids will love this one!)

You will need:

Rice Krispies

Cooking chocolate

Mini eggs

Combine the rice krispies with melted chocolate and place into bun cases. Make a dent in the middle to form a nest shape. Once the chocolate has set, place 2-3 mini eggs into your chocolate nests.

Traditional Hot Cross Buns

1 lb plain flour

1 level teaspoon caster sugar

1oz fresh yeast or1 level tablespoon dried yeast

1/4 pint lukewarm milk

2 fluid oz warm water

1 level teaspoon each of salt and mixed spice

2 oz caster sugar

2 oz melted butter

1 beaten egg

1 oz currants

1-2 oz chopped mixed peel

Grease and flour two baking trays and preheat oven to 190°C. Sift 4 oz of the flour with the sugar.

Crumble in the yeast and stir in the milk & water. Leave the mixture in a warm place for 20-30 mins until frothy.

Meanwhile sift the remaining flour with the salt and spice. Add the sugar. Stir the melted butter together with the egg into the risen yeast mixture.

Gradually fold in the flour, currants and peel. Knead the dough on a floured surface until perfectly smooth. Divide into 12 pieces and shape into buns. Set the buns well apart on the prepared trays and leave them in a warm place until doubled in size. Make two cuts on the top of each bun to form a cross.

Bake just above the centre of the oven for 15-20 mins.

Leave the buns to cool on a wire rack; while still warm brush them with a glaze made from 1L/Moz caster sugar dissolved in 2 tablespoons water.

- Jacqueline Strawbridge