Easter feast provides authentic taste of Italy
Easter in Italy brings all kinds of spring delicacies to the table, from the season’s young lambs to fresh cheeses and baby vegetables.
Families come together around the holiday table, then continue to celebrate on Easter Monday, when they enjoy going out to the hills for an alfresco picnic, packing dishes they have made in advance, or leftovers.
“Italians start cooking for Easter days ahead,” said Linda Carucci, who taught an Italian Easter class at Ramekins in early March. “They go to Mass, come home, do some more cooking, and get ready for the big day.”
The class, attended by two dozen home cooks eager to get a head start on the spring holiday feast, included a few challenging dishes that could be prepared ahead - a decadent Mortadella Mousse, luscious Asparagus Lasagne and a rich, ricotta-based Neapolitan Easter Pie - as well as an easy entree of Marinated Lamb Rib Chops with a side of Sautéed Spinach with Currants, Pine Nuts and Pecorino cheese.
The home cooks gathered at the class were thrilled that they would be able to work ahead on some of the dishes, then tackle the easiest dishes at the last minute.
“I loved that the lamb was done in three minutes,” said Mary Jayne Sullivan of Fairfield. “I’ve done racks of lamb, but I’ve never cut them up.”
As a make-ahead appetizer, Carucci shared a recipe she developed, Crostini with Mortadella Mousse. She first tried the mousse in Bologna, Italy, where the beloved pork-based cold cut mortadella is made.
“The mousse is cold and creamy and really, really delicious,” Carucci said. “It has protein and fat, which both absorb alcohol.”
As a first course, Carucci suggested baking up an Asparagus Lasagna with Fontina and Bechamel, which tastes even better when made ahead.
“I wanted to make asparagus in some guise,” she said. “It’s a lot of work, but it’s very rewarding.”
For the entree, students simply cut the Frenched lamb rib chops from a rack of lamb, then massaged them with a simple marinade of olive oil, rosemary, salt and pepper. The marinated chops were blotted with paper towels, then cooked in a large saute pan.
The secret to the lamb dish is sourcing good quality lamb and ingredients for the pan sauce, a savory blend of oil-cured olives, anchovies, rosemary and organic lemon zest.
“After being (dry) cured, they are poached in olive oil,” she said of the olives. “You don’t want to use brine-cured olives.”
The secret to the spinach dish lies in a generous sprinkle of Pecorino Romano cheese, the hard-grated sheep’s milk cheese that comes from the south of Italy.
“You won’t recognize the cheese in the spinach,” she said. “But it makes it taste creamy.”
As a dessert, Carucci shared a recipe for a classic Neapolitan Easter Pie, which is made three days in advance, then stored in the refrigerator for the crust and the filling to meld. The sturdy crust is made with lemon, egg and sugar, and the ricotta filling is flavored with candied orange peel and orange blossom water.
If you don’t have time to bake the labor-intensive pie, Chef Lisa Lavagetto of Ramekins suggested a simple Vanilla Panna Cotta, with a compote of sweet, spring berries.
Ramekins student Adrian Long of Sonoma said she likes to make an easy Cream Puff Pie from layers of ice cream, chocolate sauce, and frozen cream puffs available at Costco and other stores.
“I put it in a springform pan, then cool it in the freezer and unmold it,” she said. “After dinner, I would serve a little limoncello.”
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The following recipes are from Linda Carucci, author of “Cooking School Secrets for Real World Cooks.”
“Served on crostini made from a seeded baguette and garnished with chopped pistachios, this becomes an hors d’oeuvre that’s welcome as a passed hors d’oeuvre with a glass of Prosecco,” Carucci writes.
Crostini with Mortadella Mousse
Makes about 36 crostini
1 sweet, seeded baguette, cut into ¼ to ½-inch slices (about 36 slices)
Extra virgin olive oil, for brushing
12 ounces imported mortadella (without pistachios), sliced as thin as possible
7.5- or 8-ounce carton mascarpone
1 ounce Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated on a Microplane
Coarse, freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 ounces (scant ½ cup) salted, shelled pistachios, chopped
Make the crostini: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Lightly brush one side of each baguette slice with olive oil and place in a single layer, oiled side up, on a rimmed baking sheet. Depending on the size of the baguette, you may need more than one baking sheet. Bake the crostini just until they are crunchy (but not hard) in the center when you press one with a finger, about 10 minutes. Place the baking sheet on a cooling rack while you prepare the mousse. (The crostini can be made up to a couple of days ahead, cooled, and stored in an airtight container. Just before serving, refresh crostini briefly in a hot oven.)
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