About Italian Food: Buona Pasqua!

Italian Food In the Spotlight | More Topics | Top Picks |   from Kyle Phillips I know Easter and Passover are more than a week off, but if you're planning the meal it's time to begin to think about what you'll be serving. Passover more or less requires lamb, and the Italian traditions follow the Jewish in this respect -- though the other dishes will change, almost every Italian household from north to south will lamb or kid on Easter.   In the Spotlight La Pasqua Napoletana Neapolitan Easter traditions are among the most interesting and loyally followed in Italy -- Kid with eggs and peas, artichokes, and above all La Pastiera, Naples's signature orange-scented wheatberry pie. A wonderful dish!              More Topics Brodetto Pasquale A classic Roman Easter Soup Abbacchio alla Cacciatora Wonderful spring lamb Carciofi alla Giudia Artichokes scale to new heights... Torta Pasqualina Liguria's Savory Easter Pie Black Easter Rice A Sicilian Dessert Stuart Borken's Chocolate Turtle Tart Extraordinarily tasty, and Flourless La Pizza Ricresciuta, a Roman Easter cake Another Classic Roman Dish Felice Pesah! Ostia Antica boasts the ruins of the oldest known synagogue outside of Palestine, and it is estimated that by the time of Tiberious (14-27 AD) 50,000 Jews lived in Rome. Indeed, many of Rome's most traditional dishes have Jewish roots, and as you might guess there are longstanding Italian Passover traditions.   An Unusual Easter Eve Dinner Daughter Clelia was baptized during the Midnight Easter Service, and since we knew we'd be up till very late, we planned our meal accordingly. Very good, but light, and there were no leftovers. Nor did anyone fall asleep during the service. Except for Clelia, who woke up at the crucial moment, looked about, and went back to sleep.     Sponsored Links   Top Picks - To Drink on Easter? Chianti Classico  from your  Italian Food  Guide I'd go with the vintage, rather than the Riserva, because it's a little lighter on its toes, and less likely to weigh one down in the course of a meal with lots of rich food. These are wines that especially impressed me at the vintage presentation this year. 1) La Pastiera Napoletana Neapolitan Cuisine has many dishes identified with one festival or another, which in the past were made only then: le lasagne del Carnevale, for Carnival, struffoli at Christmas, and a several Easter pastries, the most important of which is the Pastiera, a centuries-old dish that appears in innumerable versions, each made according to a closely guarded family recipe... 2) Aironeverde's Pastiera Napoletana As I said, there are countless variations on the Pastiera. Aironeverde is a regular visitor to the Italian food forum, and has kindly shared her recipe. 3) La Pastiera Mirandese Marianne Tortola and her family now live in the Boston area, but hail from Miranda, a town not far from Isernia, in Molise. Their Pastiera is similar to the Neapolitan Pastiera, but made with rice rather than grain, and flavored with cinnamon water rather than orange water.   Best Moves in a Bad Economy Save & Invest the Right Way Find out how to beat a bear market, make smart choices, and keep your cool even when the economy is unpredictable. Italian Food Ads Food Recipe Italian Foods Italian Appetizers Italian Menu Italian Pizza Advertisement     Visit Related About GuideSites: Home Cooking Europe for Visitors Italian Language Wine Gourmet Food   Search About      Sign up for more free newsletters on favorite topics. You are receiving this newsletter because you subscribed to the About Italian Food newsletter as ignoble.experiment@ARCONATI.US. If you wish to change or remove your email address, please visit: http://www.about.com/nl/usgs.htm?nl=italianfood&e=ignoble.experiment@ARCONATI.US About respects your privacy. Our Privacy Policy. Our Contact Information. 249 West 17th Street New York, NY, 10011 © 2008 About, Inc.