Although honey-glazed ham, garlic mashed potatoes, and fluffy dinner rolls are common Easter fare in the United States, there are many other ways to celebrate the holiday that incorporate both local ingredients and distinctive cultural practices.
The creator of the Italian food blog Divina Cucina, Judy Witts Francini, stated, “Italians go all out.” She is originally from California but has spent decades in Tuscany and Florence.
The Easter lunch at Witts Francini begins with a selection of appetizers. For the principal course, she serves a flavorful tart called torta pasqualina, which has 33 layers of phyllo mixture to represent the 33 years of Christ’s life. Roast lamb, fried artichokes, pan-seared peas, and roasted potatoes make up the second course. Chocolate eggs with a gift inside and a dove-shaped cake called colomba are the dessert. They can be up to three feet tall.
Italy: The rustic pizza
The flaky crust of pizza rustica, also known as pizzagaina, is stuffed with cheese and meat. Pizza rustica, like the majority of Italian recipes, varies from chef to chef and town to town. It originates from Naples, which is referred to as the “pizza birthplace.” Rossella Rago, an Italian-American author and host of the popular online cooking show “Cooking with Nonna” who also wrote a cookbook with the same name, described the dish as “basically a ricotta cheesecake, but it’s super savory – to the max.”
Making the pastry dough, which consists of flour, eggs, salt, milk, and lard, is the first step in making the pie.
“Can I make this with shortening?’ I get asked that question all the time,” The response is always: “No,” Rago responded. I would say, “Yes, fine, use shortening,” but when it is actually Easter, you must use lard.
At least in Rago’s version, the pie contains ricotta, provolone, mozzarella, prosciutto, eggs, and soppressata, an Italian dry salami.
“Everyone swears by their own particular combination. Ask the Italian people, “What’s the real pizzagaina?” if you want them to fight right now. Rago stated, “That’s what everyone in Italian America is obsessed with.” Because there is no right way, it always makes me laugh. It is absurd to consider that.
Rago added, “Until its unification, Italy had 600 languages.” So, do you believe we have a single recipe for everything? Definitely not.
Nonna Romana is a true story about Italian Americans. Romana is from Puglia, a southern Italian region where the dish isn’t made. She found out about it from other Italian Americans while she was working at a dress manufacturing plant in Brooklyn, New York. She modified their version by adding and removing elements. She developed her own Italian American custom after many years of alterations.
Rago stated, “She swears it’s the best.” Her mystery is extra-sharp provolone. According to Rago, it is one of her website’s most popular dishes, and everyone who tries it reports success on their first try.
This dish is typically prepared on Good Friday and served on Easter Sunday at room temperature.
Capirotada
There are many things that come to mind when you think of authentic Mexican cuisine: rice, beans and tortillas, to give some examples.
Capirotada can now be added to the list.
The Mexican dessert known as capirotada is similar to bread pudding. Layers of nuts, cheese, fruit, and sometimes sprinkles are layered on top of bread that has been coated in syrup.
Mely Martinez, the blogger behind Mexico in My Kitchen, stated, “If you are into salty, sweet, soft, crunchy, and spongy mixed together with a dash of spice, this is for you.” Even though it sounds strange, this concoction is an explosion of flavors in your mouth.
Martinez was raised in Tampico, Mexico, where he was born. Every Easter, she serves this dish as a dessert. Martinez’s traditional capirotada is made by baking layers of sliced white bread in butter and then dipping them in a piloncillo (unrefined sugar), cinnamon, and clove syrup. The bread is sandwiched between layers of cotija cheese, roasted peanuts, and raisins in an oven-safe dish. After being baked, sprinkles and bananas are added to the top.
On Easter Sunday, capirotada is typically served warm, but many people also serve it during Holy Week.
It’s hard to stop. Martinez stated to CNN that “once you start eating it, you can’t stop eating it.”
Capirotada, which was brought to Mexico by the Spaniards, became popular in Mexico because it is simple to make and uses things that most people already have on hand.
Martinez claims that it evolved from a savory dish made with beef broth to a sweet one made with syrup. The bread and syrup, according to some, are symbols of Christ’s body and blood.
Capirotada comes in many different varieties throughout Mexico. Charbel Barker uses milk to make hers. Her “abuelita,” which translates to “grandma,” came up with her recipe.
My abuelita always said, “It’s good, but there’s something missing.” Barker said, “It needs more sweetness.” As a result, she added two kinds of milk: condensed milk sweetened with sugar and evaporated milk.
Barker said that the milk gives the dish a pudding-like texture and gives it more flavor.
Barker stated, “It tastes like a Snickers.”
