Name: Mayeritsa
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 1 kg shoulder of lamb (on the bone); ¼ cup finely chopped dill; 1 tbsp each of finely chopped flat-leaf parsley and celery leaves; 8 green onions, including stems, finely chopped; 45 gm butter; 200 gm lamb’s liver, finely diced; 150 gm long-grain rice; 1 cos lettuce heart, finely sliced; To serve: lemon wedges; Avgolemono sauce; 2 eggs, beaten; 1 lemon, juice only

Easter ‘midnight’ soup

Traditionally made with the intestines of the paschal lamb and eaten after the long church service to break the Lenten fast, this soup uses the more readily available lamb’s liver and shoulder as main ingredients.

Ingredients

1 kg shoulder of lamb (on the bone)

¼ cup finely chopped dill

1 tbsp each of finely chopped flat-leaf parsley and celery leaves

8 green onions, including stems, finely chopped

45 gm butter

200 gm lamb’s liver, finely diced

150 gm long-grain rice

1 cos lettuce heart, finely sliced

To serve: lemon wedges

Avgolemono sauce

2 eggs, beaten

1 lemon, juice only

Method

Main

1.Wash and dry the lamb. Cut meat into 1cm dice and place in a large saucepan with the bone, half the herbs, half the green onion and cover with about 5 cups (1.25 litres) cold water. Bring to the boil, skimming any impurities off the surface. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 45 minutes.

2.Melt butter in a large frying pan over medium heat, add the remaining onion and cook for 5 minutes to soften. Using a slotted spoon, transfer lamb from stock to the frying pan. Add liver and sauté, stirring, for 5 minutes.

3.Strain the stock and return to the saucepan. Add the lamb mixture, rice, lettuce and remaining herbs, and season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add extra water if needed to just cover the ingredients, then simmer over low heat for about 15-20 minutes or until rice is cooked. Remove from heat.

4.To make avgolemono sauce, whisk eggs and lemon juice together in a large bowl. Whisk in a cup of the soup liquid, then pour this mixture back into the soup and stir to combine and thicken. Serve immediately with lemon wedges.