Nigel Slater’s new recipes for Easter

Catalan bubble and squeak, chicken, trout and lemon swiss roll are all on the menu for the holiday

Easter arrives and there is a definite change of step in this kitchen. The mood lightens, flavours are more gentle and the cooking becomes relaxed. Instead of a chicken stew thick with beans and herbs, the bird is simply roasted with tarragon and young potatoes barely bigger than a blackbird’s egg; the fish pies that have bolstered us all winter are replaced by pan-fried trout with a light, sharp cucumber sauce and baked potatoes are swapped for clouds of mash flecked with spring greens. On the pudding front, my reliable fruit cake is set aside for the lightness of a citrus sponge. Even the traditional baked cheesecake gets a spring makeover – the same ingredients but pressed between sheets of muslin instead of being baked and now used to fill tempting little tarts.