Strawberries are now in the market. And in this delicious pie.
Now that we’ve provided all the practical information regarding Easter in Rome, let’s move on to the fun(ner?) stuff – the meal. The Easter meal is a time to bring together friends, family, or all of the above, and it fortunately always lands right around the time that some awesome spring veggies are starting to pop up in the markets. We lovingly detailed the Easter Feast(er) of the Young in Rome team last year, so stay tuned for a follow-up feature next week. In the meantime, if you want to create an Italian Pasqua Party of your own, read on for a few springtime recipes using the best of the market’s current bounty:
Abbacchio Baby lamb – and no, that’s not redundant. Abbacchio is young, milk-fed lamb, which is then, well, slaughtered when it’s only a few months old. Follow the above recipe for some in-oven options, although we’ll be roasting ours on a spit over an open flame. Photos to follow.
Fresh Pasta with Fava – Fava beans are just coming into season right now, and if you have the patience to deal with the double shelling process, make a springy addition to fresh pasta. Also enjoyed raw with a hunk of pecorino romano cheese.
Carciofi alla romana A classic of Roman cuisine, and now, thankfully, in season, these artichokes are stuffed and braised into a tender delicacy that belies its taxonomic classification as a thistle.
Coratella con carciofi – This dish brings together two of Rome’s greatest loves – artichokes, and animal innards. The stew might not look the most appetizing, but the flavors are incredible.
Vignarola Spring vegetable stew featuring everything that’s green and fresh-looking at the market right now
Chocolate egg – No Easter is complete without some over-sized chocolate eggs with toys inside. Get yours pretty much anywhere.
