April

Uova di Pasqua - Easter eggs

In Italy the egg is a typical Easter food because it’s a symbol of new life.
On Easter we use two kinds of eggs: chocolate eggs and boiled eggs.
We use to put boiled eggs in a basket and bring them to the church, where they are blessed during the mass. In the Easter day, we begin dinner eating the boiled, blessed eggs.
We use also present and eat chocolate eggs, especially for children. In the chocolate eggs there is always a surprise (a toy or another little gadget).

Agnello - Lamb

Lamb is a typical food of Easter. It’s a symbol of Jesus’ sacrifice. Lamb is cooked in various way.

Fried lamb – Agnello fritto
Ingredients
Lamb cutlets
Flour
One egg
Salt
Breadcrumbs
Oil
Method
Flour the lamb cutlets, put them in the beat egg with salt and then in the breadcrumbs.
Heat the oil and cooked the lamb cutlets until they are brown.
Drain the cutlets on absorbent paper and salt them.
Serve accompanied with green salad or fried artichoke.

Roast lamb – Agnello arrosto
Ingredients
Lamb
Salt
Pepper
Garlic
Rosemary
Oil
White wine
Method
Salt and pepper a piece of lamb. Put it in a baking tin with oil, garlic, rosemary and white wine. Put the baking tin in the oven until the lamb is cooked.
 

Colomba - Easter Dove

This is a typical Easter cake. It has the form of a dove, symbol of peace.
Usually it isn’t cooked at home, but buyed in cake shops or bakery.

Ingredients (for six people)
3 eggs
150 g sugar
100 g butter
250 g flour
Grated lemon peel
A pinch of salt
50 g candied fruit
50 ml milk
A bag of yeast
A bag of vanilla
60 g peel almond
30 g grain sugar

 

Method
Beat the sugar with the butter and add the yolks. Pour the flour slowly, adding the grated lemon peel and the milk. Meanwhile whip the albumens and add them very slowly. Flour the candied fruit and add it to the mixture. Finally, add the salt and the yeast. Pour the mixture in a butter dove mould, covering with the almonds and the grain sugar. Cook in the oven (170°) for 40 – 45 minutes. Take off from the oven and dust the dove with icing sugar.
 

It’s a typical Easter bread, used for breakfsat on Easyer morning.

Ingredients
Flour
water
yeast
salt
olive oil
rigatino (similar to bacon)
 
Dissolve the yeast in warm water and mix it with the flour. Meanwhile fry gently the rigatino cutted in little cube in olive oil and add it to the mixture. Continue to knead to make a bread.
Let the bread rise for one hour at least.
Put in hot oven and let it cooked for two hours at least.

Pastiera is a sweet grain pie of the Neapolitan Easter tradition famous all over the world. It is a symbol of Spring.
Naples is in the south of Italy, enough far from Tuscany (our region), but we have in our schools some pupils and teachers coming from Naples and its area.
 

Ingredients
Short crust Pastry
500 g flour
3 eggs
150 g sugar
150 g butter
½ orange rind

Filling
300 g milk
550 g wheat grain
700 g ricotta cheese
500 g sugar
6 whole eggs and 2 yolks
Vanilla
half bag of cinnamon
a phial of orange flower water

Mix the ingredients for the short crust pastry and let the mixture in the fridge for one hour at least.
Boil the milk with the wheat grain and let it cool.
Add the ricotta cheese, the sugar, the whole eggs, the yolks, the vanilla, the orange flower water and the cinnamon.
Spread 2/3 of the short crust pastry in a buttered baking tin, pour the filling, decorate with little strips made with the remained short crust pastry.
Cook in the oven (180°) for about 45 minutes.
Cover with icing sugar.
 

Torta Pasqualina - Easter Pie

The Monday after Easter is called Angel’s Monday.
In this day, many people have a picnic in the countryside, eating cold food, cooked the previous day and easy to transport.
 

Ingredients
300 g puff pastry
One egg
One yolk
300 g spinach
300 g ricotta cheese (soft cheese made from ewe's milk)
3 spoons of grated Parmesan cheese
Salt, pepper, nutmeg

Method
Boil the spinach and let them cold.
Add the ricotta cheese, the egg, salt, pepper, nutmeg and Parmesan cheese.
Spread the puff pastry and let a little for the decoration. Put the puff pastry in a baking tin, make some little holes in the bottom by a fork and add the mixture of spinach, egg and cheese.
Decorate with the remained puff pastry, making some strips on the pie.
Paint with the beaten yolk.
Put in the oven: 180° for 20 minutes