This year again, there will be no traditional leg of lamb on our Easter table. We stopped eating lamb as a family ever since our son declared “he did not want to eat baby animals”. We could not really argue and felt guilty not to have come to this conclusion earlier.

Inspired by Diana Henry’s Middle Eastern Easter, I decided to put together this Moroccan vegetarian Easter Sunday lunch menu bound to delight both vegetarians and meat eaters.

I love the flavours of Moroccan cuisine. Throughout history, Moroccan food has evolved under many influences from Berbers’ nomadic tribes, Romans to colonial French & Spanish creating many delicious and unusual dishes. From the sweetness of fruits, the richness of spices to aromatic harissa,  all the flavours blend beautifully to give depth to meat, fish and vegetarian dishes.

The Moroccan Spiced Pie below makes a fantastic centerpiece. It is from BBC Good Food and originally published as a Christmas recipe but it certainly fits the bill for Easter too. I picked three salads as side dishes. I particularly like the roasted cauliflower salad which goes with almost everything. Dessert has nothing to do with Morocco but in the spirit of Easter, is a chocolate cake. I am making the No-Bake Gianduja Chocolate Mousse Cake from The Vegan Cookie Fairy, a contender in our Feast Your Eyes on Vegan Competition.  The recipe is very straightforward and can be done the day before easing the burden of Sunday morning cooking.

You can finish off the meal with some fresh mint tea. Simply place 1 large handful of fresh mint leaves (roughly torn) in a teapot and add 750ml boiling water. Cover and leave to brew for 10 mins or so. Sweeten to taste with sugar or honey.

Happy Easter!

Vegetarian Easter Sunday Lunch Menu

Moroccan Spiced Pie by BBC Good Food

Moroccan Chickpea Salad with Carrots

Moroccan Harissa and Sesame Quinoa Balls on Griddled Asparagus Salad with a Creamy Harissa Dressing by Bunny Kitchen

Roast Carrot & Avocado Salad with Orange & Lemon Dressing by Jamie Oliver