Preparing for Easter
Put an egg on it.
Is there any symbol more used for Easter than the egg?
My Ukrainian Grandmother ( we grew up knowing she was a “White Russian) celebrated Russian Easter, and their decorated eggs were magnificent.
She didn’t have many of the old-style eggs, but we hollowed out eggs and decorated them yearly for her egg tree. We put ribbons on them and hung them on a large branch in the center of the table. My mother had an ornate, larger carved wooden egg with a painted scene from a fairytale that held a gift from a boyfriend.
I loved the little sugared eggs with the diorama inside as a kid. As an adult, I learned to make my own. The Sicilians make sugar figures for all soul’s day.
In Italy, the chocolate egg is the most popular. They are sold with small gift items, such as toys for kids, perhaps a keychain, or a necklace for adults. There are soccer team-themed eggs, cartoons, and film-themed eggs.
If you want to give a special gift, you can go to your local pastry shop, bring your own small gift, and get a custom egg made. This is popular for engagement rings!
Part of the Italian tradition of eggs, as the symbol of fertility, birth, and the resurrection, is bringing a basket of hard-boiled eggs to Easter mass and having them blessed—benedette. Usually, the basket will have a lovely linen napkin and some greens or a citron. The egg is the first thing you eat at Easter lunch.
Is that where Eggs Benedict comes from, Uove Benedette in Italian?
Easter flavors are on the table. We always have something with spinach and ricotta for Easter. Young spinach or chard and spring ricotta are used in many recipes.
When recipes were codified, written down, and put into books, recipes using spinach were called Florentine, like Eggs Florentine. In Florence, a dish with peas is called all Fiorentina.
When Catherine di Medici went to France and married a French king, she brought her cooks with her, and since they saw her use spinach all the time, it became Florentine style.
In Florence we have a wonderful sort of gnocchi/dumpling called Gnudi- Naked ravioli. It’s the traditional filling of a ravioli, without the pasta, hence naked.
I adore eggs. The eggs in Italy are not sold refrigerated, which surprises everyone. They have not been washed to remove their natural protective coating called “bloom”.
Another traditional food for Easter is the Citron. It can be served savory or sweet. For savory, it is simply sliced and then sprinkled with salt and olive oil to eat like a salad.
The sweet version is sprinkled with sugar and left to marinate; it tastes like eating lemonade.
There are so many excellent seasonal dishes for Easter. Each region has its specialties. In Rome, young tender lamb is served as abbacchio. The tiny lamb chops are called Scottaditto: “burn your fingers”.
I always order artichokes in Rome. They have two specialties: the Jewish style- Carciofi Alla Giudea,twice-fried—and the Roman style -Carciofi alla Romana, stewed whole with mint and garlic.
This week, I am sharing some of my recipes with my paid subscribers that love to serve at Easter with eggs. Torta Pasqualina and Casiatello from Naples.