The AGA cooker excels at every style of cooking…! At the heart of its classic looks lies a cast iron heart, the entire cooker is an energy store, steadily transferring the heat from its core into its ovens and hotplates. Ideal for preparing a delicious Easter Feast with this Master Cook.

AGA roasts are more succulent, vegetables crunchier and cakes are lighter. Yorkshire puddings rise higher, steaks are juicier, and pizzas are always crisp to perfection. There is nothing the AGA cannot do and everything it does…. it does better! AGA ovens are made from cast iron, which is a fantastic material for retaining and, even more importantly, radiating heat. Radiant heat means that the heat comes from all directions and is transferred directly from a heat source to an object, as opposed to through the air, like a convection oven.

Radiant heat is gentle on food and locks in moisture, flavour and goodness, meaning the food you serve tastes delicious. AGA cookers are also synonymous with the gentle, comforting warmth it brings to your home, ideal for Easter time when the weather edges towards Winter.    This Easter enjoy a superb roast, with potatoes and Yorkshire Pudding, with the family and your AGA oven.

Try this special Easter Feast Recipe, courtesy of AGA:Beef Ingredients: 3 x rib of beef on the bone, weighs about 5kg ½ tsp olive oil Sea salt Black pepper 3 onions, peeled and each sliced into four circles Roast Potatoes Ingredients 1.3kg Oil Simnel Cake Ingredients 200g plain flour 1 tsp mixed spice ½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg 175g butter 175g light soft brown sugar 1 lemon, grated rind 4 eggs, beaten 55g ground almonds 700g mixed fruit with peel 85g glace cherries, quartered 55g blanched almonds, chopped 700g white almond paste 1 egg white or 1 tbsp apricot jam Roast Beef – Serves 8-10Take the meat out of the refrigerator an hour before cooking to allow it to come to room temperature.

Massage the olive oil into the fat of the meat, which will help the seasoning to ‘stay put’. Grind seasoning over the fat. Place the onion slices into the base of the large AGA roasting tin and the meat on top of the onion. Slide the roasting tin onto the lowest set of runners in the roasting oven. Cook the ribs for 12-15 minutes per 500g plus 30 minutes – this size roast should take about 2-2½ hours.

A shorter time results in a rarer inside. When cooked, remove from theoven, place on a warmed plate, cover with foil and leave for 30 minutes to rest. If you prefer the meat can be moved down to the baking oven after cooking for 1½ hours so that roast potatoes, parsnips and Yorkshire Puddings can be cooked in the roasting oven. Make the gravy by adding two tablespoons of flour to the fat and onions in the roasting tin, stir well, then add 600ml stock or a mixture of red wine and stock. Whisk together. Pour the liquid into a saucepan and bring to boiling whisking continuously, strain through a sieve and serve separately.Roast Potatoes:Peel the potatoes and cut into even sized pieces. Parboil in salted water on the boiling plate for 3-5 minutes then drain well. Fluff the potatoes up slightly by shaking them in the saucepan with the lid on. Heat the fat in a roasting tin or AGA baking tray on the flat floor grid of the roasting oven until very hot. Add the potatoes and roast, turning occasionally, for about 1-1¼ hours, depending on their size, until they are golden and crisp.

Simnel Cake – Method Makes 1 x 20cm cakeButter and line a 20cm round cake tin. Sift the flour and the spices together. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy and gradually beat in the eggs and lemon rind, adding some flour towards the end to avoid the mixture curdling. Fold in the remaining flour and ground almonds, then the fruit, cherries and chopped almonds. Place half the mixture into the cake tin. Roll out a quarter of the almond paste and lay on top of the mixture and press down lightly, spread the remaining fruit cake mixture on top and level.

AGA Cooking
Place the cake tin on the grid shelf set on the floor of the Baking Oven for 20 minutes then transfer to the Simmering Oven – sit the cake tin on the large grill rack – for about 5 hours. Remove from the oven, allow to cool for an hour, then remove from the tin and peel off the paper. Cool completely. To decorate; roll out half the remaining almond paste to fit the top of the cake. Brush the top of the cake with egg white or warmed apricot jam and press the almond paste into place, crimp the edges.

Take the last of the almond paste and form eleven balls and attach these to the cake with a little egg white. Lightly brush the almond paste with egg white and place towards the top of the Roasting Oven to lightly brown, about 3-5 minutes.For more information visit www.agaliving.co.za

The AGA range is available directly from AGA South Africa and a selection from Bergzicht Furnishers,  Euro Appliances, Gas & Equipmentand Metelerkamps.

Recognised as the world’s best cooking appliance, the AGA oven commands a level of adulation more often associated with the glitz of Hollywood fame — and generates similar devotion. It’s deemed the number one luxury appliance brand and is revered as one of the top three design icons of the century. It’s the kitchen centrepiece of Celebrities, Professional Chefs, Royalty and discerning Homeowners across the globe. AGA represents a lifestyle, one that owners embrace and share fervently with others.

For more information visit www.agaliving.co.za