Cook for Ukraine: Three recipes for special occasions

Marinade ingredients may seem fusion and improbable, but they work if good good,” says Olia Hercules. "When you pull the lamb and mix it with the juices from the marinade, it's just amazing. It's fantastic for using up tired, soft herbs left out in the fridge: feel free to use some, like the parsley, chives, and basil.

"Serve it with any grain, too - I like couscous or freekeh - but any slightly plain carb that can soak up the sauce is fine." good: rice, boiled and mashed potatoes, flatbreads… You name it Lamb shanks or pork or beef ribs will also work here if you want something smaller or cheaper than a shoulder of lamb!"

Shoulder of lamb with herbs and candied lemons

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

Recommended

3 cloves of garlic, peeled

1 tbsp soy sauce

½ tbsp honey

15g finely grated ginger (I don't bother peeling it , but that's up to you)

1½ tsp ground coriander seeds

1½ tsp coffee ground cumin seeds

Leaves of ½ small bunch of mint< /p>

Leaves of ½ small bunch of tarragon

½ small bunch of dill, leaves and stems

½ small bunch of coriander, leaves and stems

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 candied lemon, chopped< /em>

1 lamb shoulder (2kg), or 4 lamb shanks

Sea salt

< p>Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200C fan. Put all the ingredients (except a handful of sweet herbs and the lamb) in a food processor, add half a teaspoon of salt and blend them into a paste. Coat the lamb. If you can leave it in the marinade overnight, great, but if you don't have time, it's ready to cook right away.

2. Put the lamb and the marinade in a cast iron pan and cover it with a lid. Alternatively, especially if you're using a shoulder, you can also use a roasting pan and cover it tightly with a foil tent (just use two large pieces of foil and lay them over the meat without touching it). Bake for 30 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 160°C and bake for another two hours. Then lift the lid or foil and take a look. The meat should be tender and falling off the bone. If it's not quite there, cover it again and put it back on for another 30 minutes. Be careful not to dry out the lamb and keep checking as one shoulder can take up to three and a half hours.

3. Remove the lamb from the oven, cover and let rest in its own juices for at least 20 minutes.

4. Remove meat from bone, discard bones and large chunks of fat, roughly shred large chunks, then return to pan. Taste, it may need a light pinch of salt.

5. If the lamb has been resting for a while, you can sauté it with the juices in the roasting pan under a hot broiler to warm through and crisp the meat on top.

6. Of course, you can shred the lamb and toss it with the juices up to a day before and store in the fridge, then simply reheat in a covered pot with a little mixed water, or in an aluminum baking sheet , before serving. Serve with any plain grain of your choice, or even mashed boiled potatoes, sprinkling with the reserved herbs.

Brown Butter, Miso Walnut Cake

Sweet and umami, give your classic afternoon tea a twist

(Joe Woodhouse/PA)

At the start of 2020, I gave myself permission to have as much cake as I wanted to eat, and I have never regretted that decision,” says Hercule.

This is one of the cakes I she returned on time...