Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted
But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
A pronouncement by the prophet Isaiah, fulfilled by Jesus the Messiah (Isaiah 53 v 4 – 5)
Words are important and when writing, capitals are important. Is this a good Friday dinner (good being the adjective) or a Good Friday dinner (GF describing a particular day marked in the Christian calendar)? Well, I hope this is both. A good Good Friday dinner perhaps.
I thought of the Bible verse above as I read the instructions for last night’s dinner centrepiece: Slow-cooked Lamb Shoulder with Fig and Pistachio Salsa from the Ottolenghi oeuvre. It starts with a 2 kg shoulder of lamb. The cook is instructed to ‘Pat dry the lamb and pierce the flesh all over using a small, sharp knife (about 10–12 times)’.
On Good Friday Christians all over the world remember that someone had to take the punishment for our wrongs so that we can have a relationship with God. It is very simple: we are sinful, God is holy, and if we want to have a right relationship with God then we need someone to bridge that wide expanse between God and humankind. Jesus is that bridge. Thankfully and miraculously, Jesus did not remain dead but instead was resurrected, and this is celebrated on Easter Sunday.
Living in Central London, there is never a shortage of visitors for us to receive. This Good Friday dinner included three members of our extended family, all children of my cousins. Since they themselves are new parents, Mr Gochugaru and I (as new grandparents) had very good conversations with them about raising children. Thus the evening ended very late, around 1 am.
To keep things simple, I cooked a dinner based on dishes I had cooked before. Only the lamb was new, and even then I adapted it to throw all the figs into the roasting sauce and omitted the salsa altogether.
Photos below, with brief notes and links to the recipes where available.
GOOD FRIDAY DINNER 2026
To start, a Butterbean and Miso Hummus with crackers, olives, sesame grissini and a Wild Garlic Tarte Soleil
Mains of Shoulder of Lamb, roasted butternut squash and grilled new season asparagus
After a cheese board with sourdough crackers and home-made membrillo, we had a Chocolate and Plum Cake with rum and raisin ice cream. I used the quantities for a 7-inch Chocolate and Almond Cake but baked it in an 8-inch tin, topping it with halved plums. The baking time remained at 35 minutes.
This morning we met up with one of the cousin’s children to have breakfast in Dishoom Carnaby Street. Once again we chatted for a long time, finally leaving the restaurant two hour after we sat down. I am back home now, thinking about what I will cook when we have Junior 1 and family join us for lunch.