I hope you are all doing well and that you've been enjoying the sun and warmth that the spring is bringing us.
With the upcoming Easter break, I thought it would be a lovely idea to share our traditions and things we do to celebrate.
For me in Italy, Easter has always been a holiday where the entire family gets together, brothers, sisters, parents and grandparents. We celebrate it all together with delicious foods and drinks, mostly seasonal and I am sure that everyone has their own special traditions here in the UK too.
I still remember the first time I brought my now husband to one of our Sunday easter celebrations. I am not kidding when I say we sat down from lunch time till 10 pm without stopping eating or trying things and drinks.
Our usual lunch would start with a welcoming drink for everyone, usually prosecco or something refreshing. When you walk in you would see cousins,parents,grandparents all together chatting and or doing all sorts of things.
Walking in the kitchen, as tradition wants, there are the grandmothers and the mums who are making sure that all the starters and mains are ready to go out. Then after four or five different starters, we would have something like two or three mains, side vegetables of all sorts and rivers of wines, the best part… Desserts, of all kinds!
There are two things in Italy that anyone,North or South, would represent Easter for them.
These two things are the gigantic chocolate eggs with a toy surprise inside and a cake called ‘COLOMBA’ which in english means ‘Dove’.
There are all sorts, my favourite is chocolate and pistachio…yum !
I wanted to share with you one of my mum’s favouriteEaster treats, especially being a cheese lover, and it is a ‘torta di Pasqua’, basically a savoury cheese bun. It is the same consistency of a sponge cake, but made out of cheese. It is so soft and spongy at the same time that its consistency is unique, made with fresh cheeses and pecorino cheese, typical Italian cheese. The origin of this savoury cake dates back to the middle ages. It is honestly one of my favourites.
I asked my 5 years old what Easter meant for her and she replied: ’chocolate!’. She loves chocolate, and the famous Easter egg hunt. I love joining in with the Easter egg hunt as well, as we never did it in Italy and it is something that I got to learn about once I moved to the UK.
I miss the seasonal fruits and vegetables that we have in Italy, as they are limited in the UK. Do you have a favourite meal or dessert that you specifically cook around Easter time? I love trying out recipes so if you have any to share please let me know below. Perhaps I can try a traditional British Easter feast this year?
I would like to also wish you all our wonderful members an amazing Easter break, full of laughter,love and positivity.
With love,
Benedetta
'The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members’
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