How to cook rack of lamb, crispy potato salad and strawberry rhubarb tart

Celebrate the arrival of spring with this delicious spread: rack of lamb, asparagus and potato salad, and a strawberry tart to finish.

Roast rack of lamb with potato and asparagus salad. Picture: Guy Bailey

I love to welcome the arrival of spring. Lamb, asparagus, new potatoes and strawberries are my favourite ingredients of the season, and this simple dinner menu features all of them.

Rack of lamb

2 racks of lamb, trimmed

4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

1 tablespoon roughly chopped rosemary

Extra-virgin olive oil

Place lamb in a ceramic or glass dish, scatter with garlic and rosemary and drizzle with oil. Leave to marinate for at least 4 hours (or overnight), turning occasionally. Brush off garlic and rosemary. Preheat oven to 200C (fan). Season lamb with salt and pepper. Heat a large frying pan over moderately high heat and sear the racks well on the meaty sides for about 1-2 minutes. Transfer to a roasting tin and roast for about 20 minutes for medium. To test lamb, insert a skewer or the point of a knife into the centre of the meat, leave it for 30 seconds and then test it against the inside of your wrist; it should feel hot. If not, return lamb to oven and test again after five minutes. Transfer to a plate, cover loosely with foil and rest in a warm place for about five minutes before carving. Serves 4-6

Asparagus & crispy potato salad

500g baby new potatoes

6 cloves garlic, unpeeled

Extra-virgin olive oil

500g asparagus, trimmed

½ cup fresh or frozen peas

6 radishes, halved

Small handful basil leaves

¹/³ cup snipped chives

Heat oven to 200C (fan). Place potatoes in a saucepan of simmering salted water; cook for 7-8 minutes until almost tender. Drain, then press each potato with a fork to squash partially. Tip into a large roasting tin with the garlic cloves; drizzle with oil and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper; roast for 30-40 minutes until crisp, tossing occasionally. Discard garlic. Add asparagus to a saucepan of boiling salted water. After 2 minutes add peas; return to the boil and cook for 2-3 minutes or until vegetables are just tender. Drain and rinse in cold water. Toss asparagus, peas and radishes with potatoes and herbs, reserving some herbs to garnish. Season well with salt and pepper; drizzle with a little oil. Serves 4-6

Crustless strawberry almond tart. Picture: Guy Bailey

Crustless strawberry almond tart

150g unsalted butter, at room temperature

²/³ cup (150g) golden caster sugar

3 large organic eggs, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

200g almond meal

¹/³ cup (45g) self-raising flour

200g strawberries, hulled and halved

2 tablespoons flaked almonds

2 tablespoons apricot jam

Preheat oven to 170C (fan); grease a 23cm tart tin. Beat together butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, almond meal and flour until just combined. Spoon into tin; top with strawberries and scatter with flaked almonds. Bake for 35-40 minutes until golden and cooked through. Melt jam with a tablespoon or two of hot water; brush over warm tart. Allow to cool; remove from tin. Serve with chopped strawberries folded through sweetened whipped cream. Serves 6-8