 Easter in Italy
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In Italy, the expression "Natale con i suoi, Pasqua con chi vuoi"
is frequently heard ("Christmas with your family, Easter with your
own choice of friends"). Oftentimes, this implies sitting down to a
dinner that starts with minestra di Pasqua, the traditional beginning
of the Neapolitan Easter meal.
Other classic Easter recipes include carciofi fritti (fried artichokes),
a main course of either capretto o agnellino al forno
(roasted goat or baby lamb) or capretto cacio e uova
(kid stewed with cheese, peas, and eggs), and carciofi e patate
soffritti, a delicious vegetable side dish of sautéed artichokes with
baby potatoes.
A holiday meal in Italy would not be complete without a traditional
dessert, and during Easter there are several. Italian children finish
their dinner with rich bread shaped like a crown and studded with
colored Easter egg candies. La pastiera Napoletana, the classic
Neapolitan grain pie, is a centuries–old dish with innumerable
versions, each made according to a closely guarded family recipe.
Another treat is the Colomba cake, a sweet, eggy, yeasted bread
(like panettone plus candied orange peel, minus the raisins, and
topped with sugared and sliced almonds) shaped in one of the most
recognizable symbols of Easter, the dove. The Colomba cake takes on
this form precisely because la colomba in Italian means dove, the
symbol of peace and an appropriate finish to Easter dinner.
Uova di Pasqua
Although Italians do not decorate hard–boiled eggs nor have chocolate
bunnies or pastel marshmallow chicks, the biggest Easter displays in
bars, pastry shops, supermarkets, and especially at chocolatiers are
brightly wrapped uova di Pasqua—chocolate Easter eggs—in sizes that
range from 10 grams (1/3 ounce) to 8 kilos (nearly 18 pounds). Most
of them are made of milk chocolate in a mid–range, 10–ounce size by
industrial chocolate makers.
Some producers distinguish between their chocolate eggs for children
and expensive "adult" versions. All except the tiniest eggs contain
a surprise. Grown–ups often find their eggs contain little silver
picture frames or gold–dipped costume jewellery. The very best eggs
are handmade by artisans of chocolate, who offer the service of
inserting a surprise supplied by the purchaser. Car keys, engagement
rings, and watches are some of the high–end gifts that have been
tucked into Italian chocolate eggs in Italy.
Artical taken from Italian Language with Michael San Filippo
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