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How the Italians celebrate Easter at the table Easter specials: lamb & greens
[Susan Glasspool]
This year Easter falls on April 16th. It celebrates the flight from Egypt, led by Moses, to the Promised and, for the Jews, and the Passion and Resurrection of Christ for Christians. The Last Supper, when Jesus divided the bread among the Apostles and later sacrificed himself for Mankind, gives a special meaning to Easter foods, as in the use of real or chocolate eggs, symbols of rebirth and fertility (the birth of Spring), Easter sweets like marzipan lambs, dove cakes (peace), ring-shaped cakes (the crown of thorns), and lamb (the Lamb of God)...
As Easter is so closely linked to Spring and the first awakenings of nature, it incorporates many sacred sacrificial rites for a good harvest. The table is thus laden with special votive breads (the unleavened bread of the Jews), green vegetables, eggs and especially lamb.
One of the most popular Easter dishes is in fact roast lamb, traditionally served in almost every Italian home. The lamb itself must be very young, a mere baby, nothing like the fat and meaty English lambs, which have an entirely different taste.
The meat of the roast or barbequed Tuscan lambs, raised and fed in open meadows, is sweet and tender. It should be served on the bone and delicately scented with wild herbs. Vegetables usually include tiny new spring potatoes and perhaps some freshly podded peas (preferably from the garden!).
Perhaps we should also say something here about Spring vegetables as, with the coming of Easter and the spring, the Florentines seem to run wild on salads and greens. It isn’t as if they have gone without during the winter, it’s just that the flavour, texture and even the thought of freshly picked vegetables seems to go to their heads (and stomachs)!
Anything green, tender and tiny from the garden is washed and seasoned with Tuscan olive oil, local vinegar (or lemon if preferred), salt and pepper to create a colourful and tasty salad.
Naturally the choice is not restricted to leaf salads - fresh broad beans, baby carrots, spring onions, radishes, the first tomatoes and tender artichokes can all be (preferably) eaten raw, or cooked, as with early potatoes, asparagus and peas. Try the wild asparagus, if you can, for they are delicious, and look out for all these green treats when dining out!
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