Treat your mum to a tasty Mothers’ Day lunch – and then do the washing up, says Claire Latimer

Mothers’ Day is toppling towards us and one of the best treats for any mum is for the kids to arrange a really good lunch with all the family gathered around where mum has had no hand in the organising or cooking. You can all get together and she can enjoy the day without having to do the laying of the table and even the washing-up; after all that is the example she has set you for many years and how many times have you rushed from the table and left the clearing up to be done by magic!

STUFFED LEG OF LAMB
Serves 6 - 8
Buy the lamb from a proper butcher and ask for the bone to be taken out. This makes the stuffing possible and the flavours of the ingredients ooze right through the flesh. The marmalade gives the skin a lovely sticky toffee texture leaving a lovely fresh taste of orange, which marries well with the meat. There is still new season Orkney lamb around although in about one months time the new season English lamb will be available. Both these have a superb flavour and are beautifully tender. One of the best tricks for making sure that meat is tender is to rest‚ it for about 20 minutes after cooking.

Ingredients
Two tablespoons of olive oil;
One garlic clove, peeled and crushed;
A 1.75kg leg of lamb, boned;
One onion, peeled and chopped finely;
Six tablespoons brown breadcrumbs;
One dessertspoon redcurrant jelly;
The grated rind and juice of 1 orange.
Salt and freshly ground black pepper;
One tsp chopped rosemary;
50g dried apricots, finely chopped;
One tablespoon of marmalade.

Method
Preheat oven 200C 400F or Gas 6. Mix one tablespoon olive oil and garlic, and then spread over the inside of the lamb. Fry the onion in the remaining oil, then mix all the ingredients except marmalade and stuff into the hollow lamb, securing it with skewers or kebab sticks. Place in a roasting tin, spread the marmalade over the skin and roast for one hour. Reduce the oven temperature to 180C 375F Gas 4 and cook for a further 30-60 minutes, according to how well done you like the meat.
Place the joint on a serving dish; remove the skewers or sticks and keep warm until ready to carve. Strain the fat off the juices and serve them as gravy.

LEMON PUDDING WITH CREAM
As a child I was always puzzled by how this mixture splits into two layers giving the sponge a wonderful hidden sauce. You can either cook it while eating the main course or it can be cooked earlier and then just reheated in the oven on a low heat, which is certainly the less stressful way.

Ingredients
125g caster sugar;
50g butter;
One tbsp boiling water;
Juice and grated rind of one lemon;
50g plain flour;
Two eggs, separated;
225ml full-fat milk;
Cream to serve.

Method
Preheat the oven to 170C 325F Gas 3. Cream the sugar, butter and water in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the lemon juice and rind. Stir in the flour then the egg yolks and milk and continue beating until creamy. Whisk the egg whites until stiff and fold them into the mixture. Pour into a greased 1-litre ovenproof dish and stand in a roasting tin. Half fill the roasting tin with hot water and cook for about 40 minutes or until light golden. Serve warm.

Clare’s Kitchen
41 Chalcot Road
Primrose Hill
NW1
Tel: 020 7586 8433
www.clareskitchen.co.uk