As wisdom and age set in, we lose that innocence and, as a result, its toothsome profits: No more Easter basket for most of us.

There's a grown-up way to cash in: Incorporate the elements of a classic Easter basket into a holiday meal while preserving the food traditions that set this Sunday meal apart from others.

This concept does not translate into eating jelly beans with a morning bagel, chomping on a sandwich filled with peanut-butter-filled chocolate eggs at lunch, or incorporating marshmallow Peeps into glaze for the evening's ham.

It does mean examining the components of, and the reasoning behind, the traditional Easter meal.

Easter, even for those who observe it as a religious holiday, is linked to renewal, dawn, fertility, rain, robins and rabbits.

It marks the end of snow and wipers frozen to the car's windshield. It's being delighted on one side of our brains by purple crocuses dotting the backyard while, on the other side, struggling to recall how many bags of mulch are needed for the front.

So it is that the main meal at Easter revolves around fare signaling spring - ham, lamb, asparagus, eggs, fresh peas and rhubarb, for example.

Food historians believe that the tradition of ham has evolved from the fact that the pig stands for prosperity in many cultures. Eggs symbolize new life and fertility, and asparagus, peas, carrots and rhubarb represent produce that becomes available early in temperate growing seasons.

It is not yet grilling season in most parts of the nation, so turning on the oven and braising are still appropriate at Easter. Still, this holiday dinner demands bright and crisp accents.

Can these elements be successfully combined with contents of the emblematic Easter basket to create a menu that is rooted in tradition but is not weird, cartoony or atrocious? Additionally, is it manageable for the typical home cook?

Absolutely - on all counts.

The dinner described here is an example of how to deconstruct an Easter basket into a meal.

It is made up of unconventional deviled eggs; lamb shanks dressed with a sauce enlivened by cocoa; crispy potatoes that are somewhere between mashed and roasted; and a grassy salad that includes dill and carrots. Dessert is a soothing pudding that tastes like malted milk balls and is sprinkled with coconut, tiny marshmallows, and, if you like, a few jelly beans for whimsy.

Most of its elements, particularly the lamb entrée, are best done ahead.

This leaves time on Sunday for resting up for the inevitable springtime tasks that follow delivery of the aforementioned mulch.

This Easter dinner does require some labor, but most of it is done ahead, leaving little work for Sunday.

Here is a sketch of the game plan:

Friday morning or early afternoon: Make the marinade for the lamb shanks. It is boiled to remove the alcohol. According to famed California chef Thomas Keller, fruity wine will flavor meat only after its alcohol is removed. Alcohol, he advises, essentially "cooks" the outside surface, preventing absorption of the flavorful marinade. While allowing the marinade to cool to room temperature, hard-boil the eggs, unless you have some colored ones already in the refrigerator.

Friday evening: Place the lamb in the cooled marinade and refrigerate it overnight.

Saturday: Cook the lamb, then make the picada, using some of the lamb's juices. Make the pudding, deviled eggs and salad dressing. Cover and refrigerate everything.

Sunday: Roast the potatoes. Reheat the meat in its picada. Assemble the salad. Garnish the pudding at serving time.

Parsi Deviled Eggs

Makes 6 servings

6 large hard-cooked eggs

1½ teaspoons fresh lime juice, or to taste

1 teaspoon honey

¼ teaspoon salt, or to taste

½ jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced

1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened

¼ cup mayonnaise

1. Shell the eggs; cut them in half lengthwise. Put the yolks in a small bowl; set whites aside. Mash the yolks with the lime juice, honey, salt, jalapeno, cilantro and butter; mix well. Stir in the mayonnaise. Adjust seasoning to taste.

2. Spoon yolk mixture into the egg whites, cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight. Bring to room room temperature before serving.

Per serving: 167 calories, 6 grams protein, 2 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams sugar, 15 grams fat, 221 milligrams cholesterol, 210 milligrams sodium, trace dietary fiber.

Fall-Apart Lamb Shanks With Almond-Chocolate Picada

Makes 6 servings

1 bottle (750 ml.) full-bodied red wine

2 carrots, coarsely chopped

1 onion, thickly sliced

1 large leek (white and light green), halved lengthwise and sliced crosswise

1 head garlic, cut crosswise

1 lemon, quartered

½ cup drained, chopped plum tomatoes (canned)

1 tablespoon dried thyme

1 tablespoon dried oregano

½ teaspoon cracked black peppercorns

2 bay leaves

5 pounds lamb shanks or 1 for each person or serving

Salt & freshly ground pepper

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided use

Almond-Chocolate Picada (see recipe)

Chopped flat-leaf parsley

1. In a large saucepan, boil the wine, reducing it to 2 cups, about 10 minutes. Add the carrots, onion, leek, garlic halves, lemon, tomatoes, thyme, oregano, peppercorns and bay; simmer 5 minutes. Let cool or chill until needed.

2. Put lamb in a large glass bowl or heavy-duty plastic salad bag; add the marinade. Cover. Refrigerate overnight.

3. To proceed, return meat to room temperature, remove from marinade and pat dry. Discard lemon. Strain the marinade, reserving the vegetables and liquid separately.

4. Season the lamb well with salt and pepper. In a large heavy skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil. Cook lamb in batches on medium-high heat, turning to brown all over, about 8 minutes per batch. Heat oven to 240 degrees. Put the lamb in a large (7-quart) enameled cast-iron casserole.

5. In the skillet on medium-low heat, stir-fry reserved vegetables with the last tablespoon of oil until deep brown and tender, up to 15 minutes, and add to the pot.

6. Wipe oil from the skillet. Bring ½ cup water to a boil, scraping up any browned bits; reduce to a syrup. Add 1 cup water, bring to a boil and scrape all into the casserole. Bring marinade wine to a simmer in skillet; add to the pot. Put a crumpled wet parchment sheet on top of the meat.

7. Cover pot with lid and bake at 240 until meat is very tender, 4½ to 5 hours. Discard parchment. With slotted spoon, transfer lamb to an oiled, shallow baking dish in a single layer. Add salt and pepper. Cover loosely with foil.

8. In a fine sieve, strain remainder over a saucepan; press hard to extract liquid. Skim off all fat possible. Boil the liquid on high heat, skimming often. Reduce to 2 cups, about 15 minutes. (Can be prepared ahead to this point. Refrigerate meat and sauce separately.)

9. To finish, if chilled, bring meat to room temperature. Gently reheat meat and sauce separately. Scrape the picada into the sauce; cook on medium-high to thicken a bit, about 2 minutes. Adjust seasoning. Pour the sauce over the lamb. Bake at 325 for 30 minutes. Garnish with parsley. Serve.

Per serving: 1,115 calories, 80 grams protein, 23 grams carbohydrates, 5 grams sugar, 73 grams fat, 272 milligrams cholesterol, 361 milligrams sodium, 7 grams dietary fiber.

Chopped Greens, Carrot and Dill Salad with Yogurt Dressing

Makes 4 to 6 servings

For the salad:

11/2 large heads romaine (outer leaves removed), washed, dried, shredded

1 cup chopped arugula, washed and well dried

1 large fresh carrot, scraped and shredded

1/4 cup chopped fresh dill

For the Yogurt Dressing:

1 teaspoon minced garlic

Juice of ½ lemon (1 ounce)

1 tablespoon champagne or chardonnay vinegar

1 teaspoon sugar

½ cup thick plain yogurt

5 tablespoons olive oil

Salt & freshly ground pepper

1. For the salad: Slice the romaine into ribbons. Place it in a salad bowl with the arugula, carrot and dill.

2. For the Yogurt Dressing: Mix the garlic, lemon, vinegar and sugar; blend well. Let flavors meld for 10 to 15 minutes or overnight. Before serving, whisk in the yogurt, then the oil. Season with salt and pepper. Toss greens with half of the dressing or as desired. Serve. Makes 1 cup dressing.

Chocolate Malted Pudding With Marshmallows and Coconut

Makes 8 servings

1 quart low-fat (1%) milk

4 tablespoons cornstarch

1 cup malted-milk powder (see note)

¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder (Dutch-processed)

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

2 ounces unsweetened

chocolate, roughly chopped

6 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ cup mini-marshmallows

½ cup sweetened grated coconut (toasted or not)

1. In a small bowl, mix ½ cup milk with the cornstarch.

2. In a heavy saucepan, mix the malted-milk powder, cocoa and salt. Slowly whisk in the remaining milk, chocolate and sugar. Melt the chocolate over medium heat, stirring often.

3. Whisk in the cornstarch mixture. Cook on very low heat, stirring often, until thick and starting to boil, about 10 minutes. Off heat, stir in vanilla. Let stand, stirring often, until pudding is just warm.

4. Portion into ½-cup bowls or parfait glasses. Cover closely with plastic wrap. Chill until set or for up to 3 days. Serve with marshmallows and coconut on top.

Per serving: 365 calories, 12 grams protein, 58 grams carbohydrates, 40 grams sugar, 11 grams fat, 16 milligrams cholesterol, 303 milligrams sodium, 3 grams dietary fiber.

Smashed Greek Potatoes

Makes 6 servings

3 pounds small red potatoes

9 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided use

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon dried Greek (or other fragrant) oregano

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1. Heat the oven to 450 degrees.

2. Put potatoes in a large roasting pan in a single layer. Roast until tender, 40 to 45 minutes. Move pan to stove top and, one at a time, press each potato with the flat bottom of a sturdy mug or weight to about ½-inch thickness with broken skins but still roundish in shape.

3. Drizzle 4 tablespoons of the oil over potatoes. Season well with salt and pepper and return to the oven to roast until browned on the bottom, about 25 minutes. Remove pan from oven and turn the potatoes with a large spatula.

4. Drizzle 4 more tablespoons of oil over the potatoes and return them to the oven to roast until browned on the other side, about 25 minutes more. Remove from the oven.

5. Sprinkle oregano and garlic over top. Season again with salt and pepper. Drizzle with remaining tablespoon oil and toss potatoes with the spatula to distribute seasonings.

6. Return potatoes to the oven to brown, about 5 minues. (Total roasting time is about 1 hour, 35 minutes.)

7. Transfer potatoes to a serving platter. Serve at once.