Easter at the table with an alternative menu without meat or fish. A trend that is the most popular not only among vegans and vegetarians but among lovers of healthy eating, proponents of a more conscious diet with few fats and calories and who prefer seasonal vegetables and greens.
Easter's menu
Traditionally, the Easter lunch interrupts the long period of Lent characterized by frugal lunches and poor diet, at least that was the way it was in the past. For this reason, custom has it that meat, cured meats and many other products that are the emblem of abundance and blaze of flavors are present in quantity on Easter tables. For some years this trend has been reversing and there are those who prefer to 'skim off' the Easter binge with simple, genuine and always very tasty dishes. The protagonists are seasonal vegetables such as peas, broad beans, asparagus and artichokes and much more.
With artichokes and asparagus you can prepare good and delicate lasagna, which has nothing to envy to the classic version with meat and other fillings. The omelettes are inevitable, very suitable for trips out of town Easter Monday. For the preparation of the classic omelette you can use wild herbs, chicory and spinach. Ingredients that give the dish that typically country flavor that is always much appreciated by vegetarians and non-vegetarians. Artichokes, in addition to being used for first courses, are also excellent second courses to be fried or baked with a filling of breadcrumbs, parsley and cheese. Even asparagus can be used for first and second courses. They are perfect for risotto and also as an accompaniment to classic pan-fried eggs.
Gourmet second courses
There is no Easter without eggs, both sweet and savoury. In fact, hard-boiled eggs can be hollowed out and stuffed with spreadable cheese and flavored with spices. Chocolate ones are an evergreen that no one can give up; a 'cuddle' for adults and children that ends the party with sweetness. Returning to savory, always riding the veg wave, let's remember that you can make excellent parmigiana (naturally without ham) only with béchamel and tomato. Anyone who wants to be fundamentalist to the end can prepare the béchamel with soy milk and oil instead of butter, and also in this case the light Easter menu is safe. Another very succulent second course is the potato meatloaf stuffed with various cheeses, peas and carrots; a triumph of flavors that generally meets the favor of many diners because it satisfies but does not weigh down.
Last but not least
The Italian pastry tradition for Easter is rich and abundant. Each region has its own typical dessert which symbolizes rebirth, the new life that the Easter holiday brings. From the dove that is national to the Neapolitan pastiera, from Calabrian cuzzupe to Sicilian sugar sheep. Passing through the many Easter cakes and pizzas of the various territories. All the preparations are united by a common denominator, i.e. they are based on simple and genuine products: eggs, flour, sourdough, wheat. Essential products that give life to simple confectionery preparations but with a unique taste: it is not for nothing that they are the desserts of a centuries-old tradition that no new trend of the most sophisticated pastry chefs can scratch.
