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Recipes to make your Good Friday even better

A new brussels sprout recipe, and a good Good Friday dessert
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Baked Ham with Riesling-Mustard Glaze (Photo submitted)

Good Friday is a federal statutory holiday across Canada. The week prior is called Holy Week in the Christian tradition as it marks Jesus the Christ’s final days on earth on his way to the cross. A complicated but precise formula determines the day Easter Sunday is celebrated: It is the first Sunday after the first full moon in spring (after March 21) which can occur as early March 22 and as late as April 25.

Easter is a celebration of Christ’s resurrection, so it’s fair to ask where things like baskets, bunnies, eggs, chicks, etc. were included in this celebration. Actually they had their roots in dating back to pagan rituals honouring spring and the goddess Eostre. The tradition goes back to at least 6th-Century Germany. Since Easter is celebrated around the same time as the Spring Equinox, Christians reinvented many of the old traditions.

The first written record we have of them and hot cross buns, dates back to an issue of Poor Robin’s Almanac from the 1730s: “Good Friday comes this Month, the old woman runs, With one or two a penny, hot cross buns.”

Today’s recipes include a baked ham and mashed potatoes you can make ahead several days and store in the fridge or freezer. If baking cold, let stand 30 minutes first, a new brussels sprout recipe, and a good GF (Good Friday) dessert. Happy Easter!

Baked Ham with Riesling-Mustard Glaze

  • 1 cup dry Riesling wine
  • 1 shallot, minced
  • ½ cup honey
  • ¾ cup coarse grainy mustard
  • 1 fully cooked bone-in smoked ham, about 10 lbs — preferably with fat cap intact.

Bring ham out of the refrigerator at least 1 hour before roasting. For glaze, bring wine and shallots to a simmer in a small sauce pot and reduce to ¼ cup. Remove pot from heat and stir in honey and mustard. Set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Place ham in a roasting pan and score the skin on top just deep enough not to cut the meat. Cover ham with a foil cover, sealing well and roast for 1-1.5 to 2 hours. Remove foil and baste with glaze.

Return to oven and continue to baste every 10 minutes for 30 to 45 minutes, until sticky and shellacked; add a splash of water to the roasting tray to loosen the glaze if it gets too thick. Remove from oven and rest for 15 minutes, up to three hours, then transfer to a cutting board to slice and serve with remaining glaze.

Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes

  • 5 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, cubed
  • 2 (3 ounce) packages cream cheese
  • 8 ounces sour cream
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 2 teaspoons
  • Onion salt
  • Ground black pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Place potatoes in a large pot of lightly salted water. Bring to a boil, and cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain, and mash. In a large bowl, mix mashed potatoes, cream cheese, sour cream, milk, onion salt, and pepper. Transfer to a large casserole dish. If not cooking immediately, cover and refrigerate for up to three days or freeze up to one month. Let stand (or thaw) to room temperature and bake for 50 minutes in the preheated oven.

Brussels and Pig Meet Fig

  • 1 pound Brussels sprouts, ends trimmed and wilted leaves removed
  • 8 fresh figs, washed, stemmed, and quartere
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 8 slices thick-cut bacon, cut crosswise into ¼” pieces
  • 1 apple, cored and thinly sliced
  • 1 sweet red bell pepper, seeded and diced
  • 1 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • Salt, pepper, and olive oil to taste

Bring a medium pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Fill a large bowl with water and ice. Heat the broiler. Set aside 4 whole raw Brussels sprouts and shred finely. Cut the rest of the sprouts in half from top to bottom. Quickly boil the cut Brussels sprouts for 45 seconds to blanch. Drain and plunge Brussels sprouts into ice water to halt cooking. Drain and dry well with paper towels. Place figs cut-side up on a baking sheet. Sprinkle evenly with sugar and broil for 1 or 2 minutes, or until sugar melts and gets bubbly and dark. Or you can use a kitchen torch to caramelize the sugared figs.

Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium low heat to render the fat, about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove bacon and reserve. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons bacon fat from the pan. Turn heat to medium high and place Brussels sprouts, cut-side down in the hot bacon fat. Cook without stirring until the cut surface is browned. Add apple, bell pepper, and reserved bacon to the skillet. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.

Add vinegar to deglaze the hot pan. Add butter and stir to mellow out the vinegar and emulsify into a sauce. Cook for an additional 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Arrange the hot Brussels sprouts mixture on a serving platter or bowl, and top with shredded raw sprouts and caramelized figs. Drizzle with olive oil and serve. Note: I dont like figs so use orange segments or fruit of your choice.

Pavlova with Strawberries

  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoons cornstarch
  • 3 egg whites, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3/4 teaspoon white vinegar
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 3 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 pint whole strawberries, stems removed

Preheat oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.

Whisk sugar and cornstarch in a bowl. Set aside. Beat egg whites in a bowl until they are foamy and have a thick, ribbony texture, 2 to 3 minutes. Pour 1/4 of the sugar mixture into the egg whites; whisk until completely incorporated, about 30 seconds. Repeat for the rest of the sugar mixture, whisking after each addition, until all of the sugar mixture is incorporated and the egg whites are glossy and thick. Pour vanilla and vinegar into egg white mixture; whisk until you can lift your beater or whisk straight up and the egg whites form a sharp peak that holds its shape, 2 to 3 minutes.

Spoon egg white mixture onto prepared baking sheet; spread out into a 2-inch high by 6-inch wide disc. Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour. Turn off the oven, crack open the oven door and let the Pavlova cool for one hour. Whip cream, sugar, and vanilla extract in a bowl until soft peaks form, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer Pavlova to a serving plate. Top with whipped cream and fresh strawberries.

Cathi Litzenberger

is The Morning Star’s cooking columnist