Four tasty Easter lamb recipes from Jamie Oliver and Ainsley Harriott (2025)

Easter is a time for gathering, celebrating, and, of course, sharing a beautiful meal with the ones we love. At the heart of many traditional Easter feasts is lamb – a dish that’s not only rich in flavor but also steeped in seasonal tradition.

Here, chefs Yotam Ottolenghi, Jamie Oliver, Ainsley Harriott and The Batch Lady have shared a variety of lamb recipes – from succulent slow-roasted legs to herb-crusted racks and flavourful Indian-inspired dishes.

Slow-cooked lamb shoulder with fig and pistachio salsa by Yotam Ottolenghi

Serves 6-8

• 3 onions (540g), peeled, 1 roughly chopped and 2 cut into 6 wedges
• 6 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
• 30g fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1½tsp ground cinnamon
• 2tsp ground coriander
• ½tsp ground turmeric
• 10g dill, roughly chopped
• 10g parsley, roughly chopped
• 45ml olive oil
• 2tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 2kg lamb shoulder, bone in
• 3 cinnamon sticks
• 12 cardamom pods, roughly bashed, open with a pestle and mortar
• 100g soft dried figs, quartered
• 750ml chicken stock
• Salt and black pepper
• 1 lemon, cut into 6 wedges
• For the fig and pistachio salsa:
• 50g soft dried figs, chopped into a 1cm dice
• 40g pistachios, very lightly toasted and roughly chopped
• 1½tbsp lemon juice
• 5g dill, leaves picked
• 5g parsley, leaves picked

Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas mark 6. Put the chopped onions, garlic, ginger, spices and herbs into a food processor and blitz until finely minced. Add the oil, vinegar, 1¾tsp of salt and a generous grind of pepper and blitz into a coarse paste.

Pat dry the lamb and pierce the flesh all over using a small, sharp knife (about 10–12 times). Coat well with all the paste. Cook it right away or leave it to marinate in the fridge for three hours or as long as overnight.

Put the onion wedges, cinnamon sticks, cardamom and figs into an ovenproof cast-iron saucepan (28cm in diameter). Top with the lamb, fatty side up, then pour the chicken stock in (but not over the lamb) and bake uncovered for 45 minutes.

Lower the heat to 140°C fan, baste the lamb with the juices, then cover with the lid or foil and roast for 4½ hours, basting three to four times throughout. The lamb should be quite tender at this point.

Turn the heat back up to 180°C fan. Uncover and cook for 30 minutes more, or until the lamb is well browned and the sauce has reduced slightly.

Gently remove the lamb, leaving it to rest on a baking tray. Pour the contents of the saucepan into a large, shallow platter or dish that has a slight lip and top with the lamb.

Combine the fig and pistachio salsa ingredients, then spoon over the lamb and serve with the lemon wedges alongside.

From ‘Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Extra Good Things’ by Noor Murad and Yotam Ottolenghi (Ebury Press, £25)

Gnarly lamb madras traybake by Jamie Oliver

Serves 8

• 1 x 2kg higher-welfare lamb shoulder, bone in
• 1 x 180g jar of Madras curry paste
• 250g yellow split peas
• 4 red onions
• 1 potato
• 4 tomatoes
• 6cm piece of ginger
• 1 bulb of garlic
• ½ bunch of coriander (15g)
• 12 cloves

Preheat the oven to 170°C/150°C fan/gas mark 3. Lightly score the skin side of the lamb all over in a criss-cross fashion, then season with sea salt and black pepper and rub with half of the Madras curry paste.

Place the yellow split peas in your largest high-sided roasting tray, then peel and halve the onions and potato and add them in.

Halve the tomatoes, peel and chop the ginger, break up the garlic bulb and roughly chop the coriander (stalks and all), then add it all to the tray along with the remaining curry paste.

Stir in 1.2 litres of boiling kettle water, then sit the lamb on top, scatter over the cloves and tightly cover the tray with oiled tin foil. Transfer to the oven to roast for 4½ hours or until the lamb is very tender.

Remove the foil, baste the lamb well with the juices from the tray, and cook for a final 30 minutes or until golden and gnarly. Serve.

From ‘Simply Jamie’ by Jamie Oliver (£30, Penguin Michael Joseph) Jamie Oliver Majestic Madras Curry Paste available at Tesco, £2.45

Tandoori-style lamb chops by The Batch Lady

Serves 4

• 1/2 cup (110g) Greek yoghurt
• 1tbsp ginger purée
• 1tsp garlic purée
• 1tbsp garam masala
• 1tbsp ground cumin
• 1tbsp paprika
• 2tbsp vegetable oil
• 1tsp salt
• Good grind of black pepper
• 8 lamb chops

Combine the yoghurt, ginger, garlic, ground spices, vegetable oil, salt and pepper in a large bowl and mix well. Add the lamb chops to the bowl and coat well in the marinade.

Preheat your grill and place the chops on a grill tray. Place under the heat for six to eight minutes, until golden and crisp. Flip and cook on the other side for a further five to six minutes.

Serve with rice, mango chutney and a fresh, zingy salad.

From ‘The Batch Lady: Rapid Dinners’ by Suzanne Mulholland (Ebury Press, £22)

Dukkah-crusted rack of lamb with smoked aubergine and warm carrot salad by Ainsley Harriot

Serves 4

• 2 x 8 cutlet racks of lamb, trimmed (approx. 500g each)
• 1tbsp pomegranate molasses or honey
• ½tbsp olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
• For the dukkah
• 20g blanched almonds
• 20g blanched hazelnuts
• 15g shelled pistachios
• 1tbsp sesame seeds
• 1tsp cumin seeds
• 1tsp coriander seeds
• 1tsp fennel seeds
• ½tsp black peppercorns
• ½tsp sumac or zest of ½ lemon
• ¼tsp coarse sea or rock salt
• 1tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
• For the smoked aubergine
• 2 large aubergines
• 2 large cloves of garlic, minced
• 3tbsp light tahini
• 1tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2-3tbsp lemon juice
• For the carrot salad
• 550g baby carrots, tops trimmed
• 1tsp cumin seeds
• 3tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small garlic clove, minced
• 1tbsp red wine vinegar
• ¼tsp sweet smoked paprika
• 2tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 200°C/180C fan.

First make the dukkah. In a dry frying pan over a medium heat toast the nuts until aromatic. Transfer to a plate. Toast the sesame seeds for 30 seconds and tip onto the plate with the nuts. Toast the cumin, fennel, coriander seeds and peppercorns until aromatic and tip into a pestle and mortar and grind to a coarse powder. Put the nuts and sesame seeds into a food processor along with the spices, sumac and salt. Blitz until you have a coarse crumb. Stir through the parsley and a little drizzle of oil.

Preheat your barbecue.

Prick the aubergines a few times then place directly on the barbecue grill and cook for 20-25 minutes, turning occasionally, until nicely charred. Set aside and when cool enough to handle, remove the stem, cut in half lengthways and scoop out all of the flesh, discarding the charred skins. Place the flesh in a bowl and mash with a fork, leaving plenty of texture. Add the garlic, tahini, lemon juice and oil and mix well. Season to taste.

Meanwhile, rub the lamb racks with a little oil and season with salt. Place fat side down over direct heat on the barbecue to sear for two minutes. Turn the lamb over and sear for another two minutes. Mix together the molasses and oil. Remove the lamb from the grill and brush with the molasses mix. Put some of the dukkah on to a flat plate and press the fat-side of the lamb down on to it to coat. Cook the lamb, crust side up, over an indirect heat on a cooler section of the barbecue with the lid closed for 18 minutes for medium or until cooked to your liking. Cover loosely with foil and allow to rest for five minutes.

Cook the carrots in salted boiling water until just tender. Drain well. In a dry pan over a medium heat toast the cumin seeds for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the oil and garlic and warm through for a few seconds. Turn off the heat and stir through the vinegar, paprika and parsley. Add the carrots and toss to coat.

To serve, carefully carve the lamb racks into chops, spoon some smoked aubergine onto serving plates and arrange the lamb on top with the warm carrots on the side.

Recipe from ‘Ainsley’s Good Mood Food‘ on ITV