Easiest ever Easter menu

The menu

• Light meals & snacks

  Ten-minute tomato soup

• Main course

  Roast loin of lamb, peas, lettuce and bacon

• Desserts

  Hot cross bun bread and butter pudding

Menu ingredients

Serves 4-6

• Fruit and vegetables

  • 6 sun-dried tomatoes in oil

  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed

  • 1 onion, diced

  • 1 Little Gem lettuce, shredded

  • 1 sprig mint

• Tins, packets and jars

  • 3 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes

  • 3–4 tsp basil pesto, to serve

• Cooking ingredients

  • 500ml/18fl oz chicken or vegetable stock

  • 1 tbsp caster sugar

  • salt and freshly ground black pepper

  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil

  • 150g/5oz caster sugar

  • 1 vanilla pod, split, seeds scraped out

  • 25g/1oz sultanas

  • 25g/1oz raisins

  • 25g/1oz demerara sugar

• Dairy, eggs and chilled

  • 150ml/5fl oz full-fat milk

  • 150ml/5fl oz double cream

  • 50g/2oz butter

  • 6 free-range egg yolks

  • 2 free-range eggs

  • 300ml/½ pint whole milk

  • 300ml/½ pint double cream

  • 75g/2½oz butter

• Meat, fish and poultry

  • 2 loins of lamb, boned, weighing 600g/1lb 4oz in total

  • 2 rashers smoked streaky bacon, diced

• Other

  • salt and freshly ground black pepper

  • 500ml/1lb 2fl oz lamb stock

  • 110g/4oz peas, cooked

  • 8 ready-made hot cross buns, halved