When thinking about Easter, I still have many childhood memories about Easter Sunday, the main celebration day. I liked how the family got together, and especially the moment when we kids were finally allowed to search for the chocolate eggs and presents the Easter bunny had hidden for us. I was reminded of this recently when I saw my kids nervously count down the days until Easter Sunday – I know exactly how it feels. With the following recipe, I tried to bring this same feeling of love and togetherness onto the plate. I prepared a trial dish recently for a Sunday family lunch, and I was really happy that everyone liked it a lot. While sitting together and talking about this new recipe, I got some great feedback from everyone, including my kids, with ideas for things to improve. For example, for the trial dish, I had added a little too much honey for the crust and it was a bit too sweet, which I then adjusted. The herbal and nutty flavor of the crust in combination with the lamb goes really well with my side dish Thyme & Garlic Baked Spiraled Potatoes.
Autumn is in full swing and I like how the trees are turing red and you can find many varieties of pumpkin. My favorite is the Hokkaido Pumpkin because of its nutty taste, almost like chestnuts. You don’t have to peel off the skin, and you can use it in almost everything, in soups, salads, or purees, and it can be grilled, sautéed, or roasted. Here I created a healthy Hokkaido-Bulgur-Risotto, using bulgur instead of rice because of its health benefits. Bulgur is a good source of plant-based protein and very rich in dietary fibre, vitamins, and minerals. The risotto can be served with meat or fish, but also by itself as a meal. Here I served it with marinated lamb chops, which is one of my favorite combinations.
