Easter Bank Holiday Food and Drink Suggestions – Easter’s early this year and let’s hope that the weather decides to warm up again, so that we can really enjoy the first bank holiday weekend of the year. Here are a few suggestions here for you to consider for the weekend, whether you’re entertaining friends and family, or just relaxing.
Much as I love hot cross buns (sadly Waitrose seems to have delisted its wonderful wholemeal ones, much to our annoyance), I was introduced recently to an alternative: Honey Bun Jamaican Easter Bun, a sweet spiced bread dotted with rum-soaked fruit, coated in a honey-fruit glaze, that’s eaten across the Caribbean at Easter. It’s really delicious and can be eaten as is, buttered, and also toasted. It’s wonderful with cheese. It’s a sort of hot cross bun flavour, but with additional layers of tropical fruitiness. available from Tesco at £4.99 for a generous 795g loaf.
Nocellara Olives are a naturally vibrant green Sicilian olive with a deliciously nutty, buttery taste, and Cypressa has recently added them to its range. They are perfect to enjoy fresh from the jar, as a snack, or an accompaniment to drinks. They also add vibrant flavour and texture to salads, stews, pasta and pizzas. They’re available in Tesco at £2.30 for a 290g jar and a great store cupboard standby, especially if unexpected guests turn up over the weekend.
To go with olives, I do love a good cocktail, and there are some really excellent ready mixed ones available. World of Zing is a top-notch cocktail company from Channel 4 Sunday Brunch cocktail expert Pritesh Mody, and his latest range is presented in eye-catching recyclable paper bottles that are lighter, safer, and better for the environment than glass. It includes classic favourites, like Passionfruit Martini, and iconic cocktails with a twist: Kaffir Lime Picante Margarita and Rhubarb Cosmopolitan. These offer the perfect opportunity to allow you to relax, while enjoying a professional-tasting mixology experience in the comfort of your home. Simply pour over ice, savour, and then dispose of the bottle in regular household recycling. The full cocktail range is available to purchase from WorldofZing.com, RRP from £20.
Here’s a nice change from – or addition to – a chocolate egg. MandS has delighted Percy Pig fans by launching a special Easter version: The Percy Pig Great Egg-scape Sweets. They feature cute new characters with delicious new flavour combos: red grape & apple, red grape & orange, and cola & cherry. There’s also cash to be won if you are one of the lucky ones to find a rare green chick in a pack. (up to £5,000) And at only £1 a pack, it’s worth buying a few!
Another great standby that will be a perfect addition to an Easter weekend lunch (or even a picnic, weather permitting) and give a hint of warmer days ahead, is a new collection of charcuteries from unearthed®. It includes Oven Roasted Ham, French Torchon Ham, and a lovely French Charcuterie selection. You can also feel good about buying it, as with the entire range, 1p per pack sold will be donated to Action Against Hunger. Since 2010, unearthed®, which is part of The Compleat Food Group, has donated £1m, from the sales of products to international hunger charity Action Against Hunger UK, helping to save 23,000 lives globally from life-threatening hunger.
The Seasoned Gastronome