4 Easter Recipes to Try at Home

Easter is a time of celebration; it is an important festival in the Christian calendar as it celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. But for those who don’t consider themselves religious, it is a time for tasty treats and a visit from the Easter Bunny.

Our Preparatory school aims to help support our students’ parents and guardians in any way we can. Due to the Covid-19 restrictions, staying at home for the Easter holiday will be a common affair.

Although traditional plans will have to be put on hold, this is a great opportunity to do some at-home family activities! Because of this, we thought we’d share some of our favourite recipes that the kids can get stuck into over the break.

Who knows, you may discover a budding chef in the family! Scroll through our article to find a mixture of healthy savoury snacks and meals as well as delicious desserts!

Spring Pasta

We thought we’d start with something hot and savoury as there will be plenty of time to tuck into the treats! This seasonal pasta can be enjoyed hot or cold as a main or side.

Ingredients

340g salmon fillets
1 tsp Coriander
1 lb short pasta
220g frozen peas
4 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 of a white onion
1/2 cup of dry white wine
Salt & pepper to taste

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 160° Fan. Lightly grease a baking tray.
2. Season the salmon with coriander, salt and pepper. Roast the salmon on the tray for 13 to 15 minutes.
3. Once cooked through the salmon should be transferred to a plate. When it has cooled completely, flake the salmon into large pieces.
4. Cook the pasta according to the packet’s instructions. Add the peas during the last minute. Reserve one cup of starchy water before draining the pasta and returning it to the pot.
5. Melt half of the butter in a deep flying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and season with salt and pepper. Stir the onion occasionally until it is light brown and soft, this should take around 7 minutes.
6. Add in the white wine and half of the reserved pasta water along with the pasta itself. Bring the mixture to a simmer and remove it from heat.
7. Add the remaining butter. If you would like to create a sauce, the rest of the starchy water can also be poured in. Gently fold the dill and salmon into the pasta.

Greek-style Pie

This simple recipe will transport you to Greece over the Easter holiday. It will only take 40 minutes to make and can be frozen for another day. This pie is perfect as part of a light lunch with a salad or as a hearty meal for dinner.

Ingredients

200g of spinach
175g sundried tomatoes
100g of feta
2 eggs
125g of pre-made filo pastry

Method

1. Add the spinach to a large pan, pour in 3-4 tbsp of water and cook until slightly wilted.
2. Separate the spinach from the water using a sieve and leave to cool. Press out any excess water and chop the spinach before adding it to a mixing bowl.
3. Chop up the sun dried tomatoes and crumble the feta before adding both to the spinach. Add in the eggs and mix the ingredients.
4. Gently unroll the pre-made filo pastry. Brush the sheet with oil, if you have used a jar of sun dried tomatoes in oil, you can use the oil from that instead. Place the filo pastry in a slightly shallow and loose-bottomed cake tin.
5. Preheat the oven at 160° Fan.
6. Spread the spinach and feta mixture over the pastry and fold the sides into the middle.
7. Before placing the pie into the oven brush with more oil. Bake the pie for 30 minutes or until golden brown

Hot Cross Buns

It’s not quite Easter without the sweet smell of hot cross buns hanging in the air. Why not bring the family together to create this delicious and nostalgic treat?

This recipe is freezable if you would like to save some for a later date, but we highly doubt they will last that long!

Ingredients

500g of strong flour for the buns
75g of strong flour for the cross
75g of caster sugar
1 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp cinnamon
10g salt
10g instant yeast
40g of butter
300ml of milk
1 egg
100g sultanas
100g currents
50g mixed peel

Method

1. Combine the flour, sugar, all spice, cinnamon, sultanas, currents and mixed peel into a mixing bowl and stir together. Add the yeast on one side, and then add in the salt on the other. This is to prevent the salt from killing the yeast.
2. In one pan melt the butter; in another warm the milk. Reserve half of the lukewarm milk and pour the rest, along with the butter, in with the dry ingredients.
3. Beat the egg and then combine it with the rest of the mixture. You may need to bring the mixture together with your hands. Carefully pour in the reserved milk until the dough is elastic and mouldable. It’s worth noting that not all of the milk may be needed.
4. Place the dough in a bowl, cover it and place it in a warm area. The dough will need to rest for an hour to two until it has doubled in size. In the meantime, line 2 baking trays with greaseproof paper.
5. Place the dough on a floured surface. Separate it into 12 slightly flattened balls and place them close together on the baking trays.
6. Cover the trays and leave to rest for another hour.
7. Preheat the oven to 200 Fan°.
8. Prepare the cross by mixing 75g of flour with 100ml of water. Mix into a paste.
9. If you don’t have an icing bag you can easily use a zip-lock bag or a food bag, and cut out one of the bottom corners. Ensure that you do this after filling it with the white paste.
10. Pipe a cross over the buns and place in the oven until golden brown. This can take between 15 to 20 minutes.

Banoffee Loaf

This simple but beautiful dessert will disappear in seconds. It can be easily adapted for fussy eaters and won’t take long to make!

Batter Ingredients

2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
100g chopped dates
100g chopped walnuts
100g veg suet
250g flour
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 bananas, preferable brown or spotted

Toffee Sauce Ingredients

150ml double cream
100g brown sugar
75g butter

Method

1. Pour 300ml of water into a pan and bring to the boil. Add in the dates, and bicarbonate of soda, and leave to cool.
2. Preheat the oven at 160° Fan. Pour the water and dates into a mixing bowl. Combine the suet, flour, vanilla and sugar into the bowl and mix.
3. Chop the bananas and fold them, along with the walnuts, into the mixture.
4. Grease a loaf tin, pour the mixture in and place it into the oven.
5. Bake for around 45 minutes. To check it is baked through, poke a skewer into the loaf and then pull it back out again, if the skewer is clean the loaf is cooked.
6.  Leave the cake to cool and make a start on the toffee sauce. Combine the cream, sugar, butter and a sprinkle of salt in a saucepan.
7. Boil the mixture and continue to cook until it becomes a bubbling sauce.
8. Serve the banoffee loaf in slices covered with toffee sauce.

We hope you enjoyed these recipes and have a wonderful Easter holiday with your families! Make sure you share how you get on with these recipes while making them with the kids; we’d love to hear from you on our social media channels!

To discover more about our educational opportunities at St Peter’s Prep, please contact Rachel Elliott, Director of Admissions & Marketing, on 01395 280335 or email rachel.elliott@stpetersprepschool.co.uk