I'm getting ready for Easter with make-ahead crowd pleasers - including chicken Marbella and a Simnel Bakewell tart

As the weather warms up and Easter approaches, it’s the perfect time to start looking forward to the long weekend - an ideal time to slow down, gather family and friends, and enjoy great food together. Hosting can however sometimes feel a little overwhelming, especially when there are extra mouths to feed.

My top tip is to get ahead where you can. Easter may revolve around food, but it doesn’t have to mean being stuck in the kitchen. That’s exactly what makes recipe writer Esther Clark’s latest collection for woman&home so appealing, with six sweet and savoury dishes designed to make entertaining feel effortless, without compromising on flavour.

As Esther says, “Make-ahead dishes take the pressure off hosting, so you can spend less time in the kitchen and more time enjoying the moment. These recipes are all about big flavours, simple prep, and food that brings people together.”

I love the warmth of nduja folded through creamy ricotta in the pasta bake, a combination that elevates a familiar favourite into something extra special. The chicken Marbella is equally enticing - a true one-tray wonder that emerges from the oven with a rich, bubbling sauce and perfectly golden chicken. And for a fittingly seasonal finish, Esther’s Bakewell-inspired simnel cake offers a fresh take on a much-loved classic.

These three sneak-peek recipes from the magazine are perfect for a relaxed, flavour-packed Easter weekend - dishes you can prep now and thank yourself for later.

Nduja, spinach and ricotta baked pasta shells

• Serves 6 | Ready in 1hr
• Per serving: 481 calories, 22g fat, 11g sat fat, 45g carbs

Nduja is a spicy, soft sausage from calabria and it’s delicious stirred into rich tomato sauce with a creamy spinach and mascarpone filling.

The pasta bake can be fully assembled, chilled and ready to bake up to 3 days ahead. If cooking completely ahead of time, cool, chill then rewarm under foil in a hot oven with a splash of water.

Ingredients

• 400g baby spinach
• 500g ricotta
• 40g parmesan, finely grated
• 1 lemon, zested
• Handful basil, finely chopped, plus extra leaves to garnish
• 300g conchiglioni pasta shells
• 125g ball mozzarella, torn
• For the sauce:
• 2tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 3tbsp nduja
• 2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes + ½ can water
• 1tsp caster sugar

Method

• Steam the spinach until wilted or microwave on high in a heatproof bowl, covered for 3 mins. Set aside to cool. Once cooled, tip the spinach into a double layer of kitchen cloth or muslin and squeeze as much of the liquid out over the sink as possible. Roughly chop the spinach and place in a bowl with the ricotta, parmesan, lemon, basil, 1 tsp of salt and a grind of black pepper. Mix well and set aside.
• Heat the oil in a saucepan. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and fry over a low heat for 10-12 mins or until softened and translucent. Add the garlic and fry for 2 mins then add the nduja and fry for 2 mins. Tip in the tomatoes, half a can full of water and the sugar. Season with salt. Cover and cook over a low heat for 15 mins. Whizz the sauce with a stick blender until smooth.
• Bring a large pan of well salted water to the boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente - around 7 mins. Drain and leave to cool a little.
• Heat the oven to 180C fan. Tip most of the sauce into a roasting tin (22 x 35cm) reserving one ladleful for later. Stuff each pasta shell with a heaped tbsp of the spinach and ricotta mix and sit them in rows, snugly on top of the sauce. Drizzle over the remaining ladle of sauce, top with the mozzarella and drizzle over a little olive oil.
• Bake for 35-40 mins or until golden brown and bubbling. Serve with a well dressed peppery salad.

Chicken Marbella

• Serves 4 | Ready in 1hr 15mins
• Per serving: 375 calories, 16g fat, 4g sat fat, 23g carbs

A sweet and salty roast chicken one-pot with flavours of the Mediterranean including capers, olives, red wine vinegar and sweet plump prunes.

This can be assembled, chilled and ready to bake up to 3 days ahead. If cooking completely ahead of time, cool, chill then re-warm under foil in a hot oven with a splash of water.

Ingredients

• 4 skin-on, bone-in chicken legs
• 8 garlic cloves, lightly bashed to remove their skins
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 70g soft brown sugar
• 50g pitted prunes, roughly chopped
• 1 heaped tbsp capers
• 110g drained queen green pitted olives, halved
• 100ml dry white wine
• Handful fresh oregano

Method

• Heat the oven to 180C fan. Slash the chicken with a sharp knife a few times. Put the chicken in a bowl and cover with the garlic, olive oil, vinegar, sugar, capers, olives, prunes, oregano and 1 tsp flaky sea salt. This can now sit in the fridge for 24 hours or a maximum of 48 hours.
• Put the chicken in a large, shallow casserole or baking dish. Pour over the marinade and the wine.
• Roast uncovered for 40 mins then turn the oven to the highest setting and cook for a further 10-12 mins or until the chicken is golden brown and sticky. Serve with roasted new potatoes and greens.

Simnel bakewell tart

• Serves 10 | Ready in 1hr 30mins
• Per serving: 574 calories, 32g fat, 14g sat fat, 64g carbs

Bakewell tart meets simnel cake in this tart layered with frangipane and a sweet cherry jam. The frangipane filling is flavoured with mixed spice and lemon and the topping has 11 marzipan balls - a nod to the traditional Easter cake.

To get ahead leave the tart to cool as per the end of step 4. Chill, wrap and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost and slice. If making ahead it will keep for several days in a tin somewhere cool.

Ingredients

• 320g ready-rolled shortcrust pastry
• 200g unsalted butter, softened
• 180g golden caster sugar
• 2 medium free-range eggs
• 100g ground almonds
• 80g self-raising flour
• 2tsp mixed spice
• 1tsp almond extract
• Finely grated zest 1 lemon
• ½tsp fine sea salt
• 200g cherry jam
• 20g flaked almonds
• 80g golden marzipan
• 100g icing sugar
• 12 glace cherries
• You will need: 22cm fluted tart tin, baking paper, baking beans

Method

• Heat the oven to 160C fan. Unravel the pastry and roll it a little bigger than a 22cm fluted tart tin. Line the tart tin with the pastry and prick the base with a fork. Chill in the freezer for 15 mins. Line the chilled pastry with a large disc of parchment. Fill with baking beans and bake for 15 mins. Remove the paper and beans and cook for a further 10 mins.
• Beat together the softened butter with the sugar for 5 mins then add the eggs, one at a time. Mix in the ground almonds, flour, mixed spice, almond extract, lemon zest, and salt.
• Tip the cherry jam into a bowl and mix to loosen. Spread the jam on the base of the pastry. Dot over large spoonful’s of the frangipane and gently smooth over with a palette knife. Top with the almonds and bake for 35–40 mins or until golden brown and set in the middle. Leave to cool.
• Divide your marzipan into 11 small balls. Mix the icing with 1 tbsp water and drizzle or pipe this over the tart. Arrange the marzipan balls and glace cherries around the edge and lightly brown the tops of the marzipan with a blow torch, if you like. Leave to set then cut into slices.