Easter Traditions, Italian Style

There is an old Italian saying, “Natale con I tuoi, Pasqua con chi vuol,” which means “Christmas at home with your family, Easter with whomever you please.” Regardless of with whom you are spending your Easter holiday, if you are celebrating in an Italian household, you will no doubt be partaking in a glorious feast.

Easter, perhaps the holiest of holy days celebrated by Christians, marks the end of the Lenten season, which is a time of fasting and abstinence. While Easter dinner is made up of a main course such as lamb, ham or turkey (and don’t forget the first course of pasta), many Italians make it a weekend long celebration filled with breads, pies, omelettes and sweet desserts. It is a time of year that is rich in both taste and tradition, and a time of year that I particularly look forward to.

In our household, the festivities start on Palm Sunday, the Sunday before Easter. After going to Church and collecting some palm, we prepare a nice Sunday dinner, followed up by home-made cannoli for dessert. Be sure to check out this fantastic palm weaving article and tutorial by Anthony Parente. Each night of the week is then filled with either dying Easter eggs, or making different Easter pies. For as long as I could remember, Easter pies were always a big tradition in my family. There were always two served: Easter Ham Pie, also known as Pizza Rustica or Pizza Chena (pronounced Pizza Gaina), and Easter Rice Pie. The ham pie is similar to a quiche, filled with egg, cheeses and various Italian meats (ham, pepperoni, salami). The rice pie is more of a cheesecake texture with rice and is sweet-tasting, often with a hint of lemon or orange flavoring. I still remember Easter dinner at my Grandmother’s. Each of my Aunt’s Easter pies and breads were represented on the table. All had similar ingredients, but each was unique in taste and texture, and all of them were out of this world. Now my Mom, on the other hand, is the family matriarch of cheesecakes. To this day, everyone practically salivates as their eyes light up when she starts do distribute her countless aluminum foil-wrapped dishes of her cherished cheesecake. Another traditional Italian dish that my Uncle Angelo makes is Fritatta, an omelette made with fillings such as potatoes, sausage and asparagus. This is usually served as a breakfast on either Saturday on Sunday.

Easter bread is also a very popular item, which is usually available starting about a week or so prior to Easter. It is a sweet bread, sometimes with a hint of anise flavor. It is woven into a circular or elongated loaf, nesting actual colored Easter eggs. It often has a sweet sugary glaze and is topped with mini sprinkles. It goes perfect with a nice cup of coffee or espresso.

I’m sure you now understand why I made sure to have my 6-month cholesterol check taken two weeks ago!!! Since I am trying to be more health-conscience these days, I have started using egg subtitutes (such as Egg Beaters) in my ham and rice pie. The taste and texture is just as good as using real eggs.

Buona Pasqua!

PIZZA RUSTICA (Easter Ham Pie)
Fills two 9-inch unbaked pie shells or one 9×13-inch baking pan

2 lbs. Ricotta cheese, drained
8-oz shredded mozzarella cheese
6 eggs, beaten
1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese
2 c. ham, diced
1/4 lb. slicing pepperoni, chopped
1/4 c. chopped parsley
1 small can sliced or chopped olives (optional)
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper

Preheat oven to 375º. Mix Ricotta, mozzarella, eggs and parmesan cheese in a bowl. Stir in ham, pepperoni, parsley, olives, salt and pepper. Spoon into pie shells, bake 50-60 minutes until center is set and crust is golden brown. Cool slightly before serving. Serve hot or cold.

CRUST FOR 9×13” PAN
3 c. flour
3 tbsp. sugar
3 eggs
1/2 c. shortening
1/8 c. milk + 1 tbspn milk
1 egg (for brushing crust)

Mix the flour and sugar together. Make a well in the center, add the 3 eggs, shortening and milk, mixing together until dough is easy to handle. Divide in half; roll out one portion and fit into 9×13 inch baking pan. Cover other half until later.

Spread filling into crust. Roll out remaining dough and fit on top of mixture. Seal edges; cut slit in top. Brush tops with a mixture of 1 well-beaten egg and 1 tablespoon of milk (makes crust shiny). Bake for 50-60 minutes in preheated 350 degree oven until crust is golden brown. Cool slightly before serving.

EASTER ITALIAN RICE PIE
(recipe courtesy of cooks.com)

1 c. cooked rice
8 eggs, beaten light
2 lbs. Ricotta cheese
1 c. sugar
Juice of and zest of one lemon
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla
1 (10-12 inch) unbaked pie shell

Preheat oven to 350º. In a bowl, mix rice, beaten eggs, Ricotta, sugar, lemon juice/zest and cinnamon. Add vanilla. Fill pie shell with rice mixture. Bake until firm for 1 hour. Let pie stay in oven for at least 1 hour after it’s done. Enjoy!

MASCARPONE CHEESE CANNOLI

Making cannoli shells from scratch can be a long and tedious project, so I prefer to use the pre-made boxed shells. For best results, do not fill shells until ready to serve, otherwise the shells will become soft and mushy.

2 c. marscapone cheese
1/3 c. confectioner’s sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Mix mascarpone cheese, sugar, cinnamon and vanilla. Stir in mini chips. Pipe or spoon filling into shells when ready to serve. Dust with confectioner’s sugar.

Stuffed Peppers

Here’s a nice dish that has become a Sunday staple for us. Nice and filling, goes great by itself or with a side of pasta (and, of course, some red wine). One of my favorite dishes to end a long weekend!

There are a number of stuffing recipes to use for Stuffed Peppers. This recipe originally called for ground beef, but we like to use ground turkey. Ground sausage removed from it’s casing would also work well and add a nice punch (hmmm..think I’ll try that next time). I’ve only used rice as my base, but am interested in trying other stuffings (breadcrumbs, etc.). Do YOU have a good Stuffed Pepper recipe? If so, please pass along! Ciao!

STUFFED PEPPERS

1 pound ground turkey (or ground beef if you prefer)
1/2 cup uncooked long grain white rice
1 cup water
6 large or 8 small green bell peppers
2 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Preheat oven to 350º.
Place the rice and water in a saucepan, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and cook 20 minutes. In a skillet over medium heat, cook the ground turkey until evenly browned.
Remove and discard the tops, seeds, and membranes of the bell peppers. Arrange peppers in a baking dish with the hollowed sides facing upward. (Slice the bottoms of the peppers if necessary so that they will stand upright.)
In a bowl, mix the browned ground turkey, cooked rice, 1 can tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Spoon an equal amount of the mixture into each hollowed pepper. Mix the remaining tomato sauce and Italian seasoning in a bowl, and pour over the stuffed peppers.
Bake 1 hour in the preheated oven, basting with sauce every 15 minutes, until the peppers are tender.

Egg White Lobster Omelette

Another get-together for my wife and her friends…another chance for me to have some fun in the kitchen! Since Julianna had just come off of an exceptionally good week, she was treated to a Happy Meal and a Shamrock shake. I know, blasphemy to umpteenth level for an Italian American parent who loves to cook. But the door was wide open for me to get creative with my dinner.

I was in the mood for some sort of jacked-up omelette. I’m a big breakfast fan, and can eat a breakfast meal any time of the day. Plus, Italians can mix just about anything with an egg to make a great meal (potatoes, peppers, asparagus, ham, hot dogs…you name it). I had just bought a pack of lobster meat earlier in the week. Although it wasn’t 100% pure lobster meat, but rather pollock mixed with lobster, the taste and texture isn’t bad at all. Plus, I’m sure it’s much better than the Loobster that was served at the Hungry Heifer (Norm’s favorite restaurant on Cheers). Obviously, I would prefer real lobster meat, but hey, we’re in a recession!

I decided to try an egg white lobster omelette. With just a few spices and a chopped up green bell pepper, I had a very tasty and filling meal in a matter of minutes. I’m sure I’ll experiment more with the spices the next time I make this dish. However, it was quite tasty as is. If you’re a fan of omelettes and seafood — or if you can’t make it to the Hungry Heifer for it’s Roast Biff and Loobster surf & turf meal — I’m sure you’ll like this.

Egg White Lobster Omelette

1 package imitation lobster meat (or real lobster meat if you prefer), chopped
1 bell pepper, finely chopped
3 large egg whites
1 teaspoon parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon milk
Spices to taste: salt, pepper, paprika, Old Bay seasoning

Drizzle vegetable oil to coat bottom of a medium size skillet; heat on medium. Add chopped peppers; saute until crisp-tender. Add chopped lobster meat plus dash of salt, pepper and paprika; stir until heated. Remove from skillet, set aside.
Mix egg whites, parmesan cheese, milk, dash of salt, pepper and Old Bay. Pour mixture into a heated non-stick or greased pan. Flip egg once, then immediately top with lobster mix and fold egg into a half circle. Remove from pan and enjoy!

Traditions

I am a person who values tradition. It plays an important part in our family. As the seasons change, we look forward to special events, family visits, road trips and of course, special meals!

A few years back, my Uncle started a tradition of making his own home-made wine. Like many Italians from generations past, he takes great pride in crafting his wine and passing out the bottles for all to share. His passion and dedication inspired me to start my own tradition – making home made orangecello. The recipe I chose takes about 3 months to age, so this is the perfect time of year to prepare the liqueur in order to enjoy it during those hot summer nights. I made my first batch last year and named it Domenicello. We had the ceremonial unveiling after the birth of our second daughter, Ava Lynn. I have to say…I was very pleased with the end result, as were everyone else who shared in drinking it. There was no doubt that making orangecello would become an annual event for me.

As I was sitting in my kitchen just the other night, shaving down the orange peels for this year’s batch, it occurred to me that I was not only starting my own tradition, but also carrying on the tradition of my grandfathers. My Grandpop Condo was a brick layer, responsible for helping build many of the churches, schools and some of the most famous sports facilities in the Philadelphia area. My Grandpop Ricciuti was a chemist and a professor at Drexel University, whose works and studies have been documented in chemistry books. Here I am, many years later, using my hands to carefully craft and scrape the key ingredient to my orangecello, and eventually I will be measuring and scaling the remaining ingredients, making sure to that the end result is balanced out to perfection. While a simple bottle of orangecello is not nearly as impressive as the works that both of my grandfathers helped create, it has taught me to appreciate the love and dedication that they both showed for their craft. And I’ll be sure to toast them both with my first sip of my 2009 Domenicello.

NOTE – While I love posting recipes and hearing great feedback on your great dishes, Domenicello is my own special little baby. So, I’ve decided to keep that recipe to myself. However, I am always more than happy to share a glass with you! Salute.