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Community Corner

Dining In: Celebrating Easter Around the World

An Easter menu to inspire you, with influences spanning the globe.

As I planned our Easter dinner this year, I found the menu was influenced by many international cuisines: French, Italian, Greek, Spanish, Latin American, and American.

Thinking these different flavors might clash with each other, I wondered if I should return to the drawing board, creating a more cohesive menu.  But these cuisines all derive from countries which typically celebrate the Easter holiday—there is harmony within the chaos.

All around the world, people gather together each year to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Or for non-believers, it is a time to gather with loved ones to celebrate the resurrection of the living world, as daffodils, crocus, asparagus, and tender greens slowly emerge from the cold winter earth to soak up the warming sun.

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So my menu remains unchanged, rich in the cuisines which I love, from cultures that uphold the Easter celebration.  A menu which also embraces this season of new life emerging from a much, much too long a winter.

The recipes for the menu are suitable for 10-12 persons.

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SPAIN

I created a  dip which embraces the flavors of typical Spanish tapas with tuna. It is wonderful served with crudite and pita chips.

Spanish Tapas Dip with Tuna, Olives & Red Pepper

1 can or jarred Italian tuna packed in olive oil

1 tablespoon anchovy paste

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves

1 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

½ red pepper, diced

2 cloves minced garlic

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon sherry vinegar

4 oz. cream cheese

1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives

2 tablespoons drained capers

kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

raw vegetables, such as carrots, celery, peppers, broccoli

pita chips

Place all the ingredients, except the raw vegetables and pita chips, into a food processor and pulse until well blended.  Place in a serving bowl and serve with the vegetables and pita chips.

ITALY

I love fresh ricotta.  The supermarket brand-name ricottas in the dairy section don't even come close to its quality.

If you can't find "fresh" ricotta in one of your local gourmet markets, you can also make it easily at home with milk and lemon juice.  You warm 8 cups of  milk, 3 tablespoons of lemon juice and 1 teaspoon of salt in a saucepan over medium high heat to 170-180 degrees fahrenheit—do not allow the mixture to go beyond a simmer.  

Curds will be begin to form and you remove them with a slotted spoon to a colander lined with paper towels or cheesecloth. Allow the curds to drain to the consistency you prefer—this will take anywhere from 2 minutes for a runny ricotta to overnight for a more solidified ricotta.

Crostini with Fresh Ricotta and Roasted Tomato with Herbs

French bread or baguette, sliced

2 cups fresh ricotta

3-4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons chopped thyme or basil

Kosher or sea salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste

2 pints grape tomatoes

2 tablespoons capers, rinsed

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

Preheat the oven to 425° F.  In a glass or ceramic baking dish, mix the tomatoes with 1 tablespoon of the preferred chopped fresh herb, 1-2 tablespoons olive oil, salt & pepper, capers, and vinegar.  Roast for 25 minutes.  Put aside to cool.

Mix the fresh ricotta with 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 tablespoon of the chopped fresh herb, salt and freshly ground pepper.  Place in serving dish and drizzle with a little more olive oil and garnish with a sprig of the fresh herb if desired.

Toast the bread in a 350° F oven until hot & crusty, but not overly crunchy.  Serve with the cooled tomatoes and fresh ricotta.  You can spread the ricotta onto the bread and top with a few roasted tomatoes.

Spring Vegetables with Bagna Cauda Sauce

This is a fantastic side dish.  You can save the leftover bagna cauda butter to serve over pasta, especially linguine with clams, on a later date.

3 cups sugar snap peas, trimmed

2 – 3 cups sliced mushrooms 

1 ½ tablespoons olive oil

1/3 cup Bagna Cauda Butter (recipe below)

Cook the peas in a pot of salted boiling water until bright green, about 2-3 minutes.  Drain and rinse under cold water or place in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking.

Heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat for 30 seconds.  Add the olive oil and swirl around the pan.  Add the mushrooms and sauté for 4 minutes until tender.  Add the peas and sauté for 1 minute.  Turn the heat to low and add the bagna cauda butter.  Allow the butter to melt and cover the vegetables.  After the bagna cauda (a literal translation means 'warm bath,' but the food derivation is a warm dip from the Piedmont region in Italy) has melted, is warm and coating the vegetables, remove pan from heat.  Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed.  Keep warm until serving, though don’t wait too long or the peas will lose their nice green color. 

Bagna Cauda Butter:

Adapted from Michael Chiarello recipe

makes about 1-1/4 cups

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 

1/4 cup chopped garlic

2 tablespoons anchovy paste or chopped canned anchovies 

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

Kosher or sea salt to taste

1 tablespoon very finely minced fresh flat-leaf parsley

Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan over low heat. When the oil just begins to warm, add the garlic and anchovies and cook slowly, stirring, until the garlic becomes toasty brown and the anchovies dissolve, about 10 minutes. Let cool completely.

Process the butter in a food processor until smooth and creamy. Add the cooled garlic-anchovy mixture and a pinch of salt. Process until well blended. Taste and add more salt if needed. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the parsley.

Refrigerate until firm enough to shape into a log. Put an 18-inch sheet of aluminum foil on your work surface. Spoon the butter down the center of the foil into a log about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Enclose in foil and twist the ends to make a sealed log, like a Tootsie Roll. Refrigerate for up to 1 week, or freeze for up to 6 months.

FRANCE

This salad is typical of bistros found in the south of France. Fresh seasonal asparagus comingles with the symbolic Easter egg.  The addition of bacon lardons and goat cheese would elevate this first-course salad to a casual supper, served with warm, crusty French bread.

French Greens with Asparagus, Egg and Red Wine Vinaigrette

1 head bibb lettuce, washed and spun dry

1 head frisee lettuce, washed and spun dry

1 bunch thin to medium asparagus

2 hard boiled eggs, chopped

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon granulated sugar or honey

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Cook the asparagus in boiling salted water until bright green and tender, about 4 minutes.  Drain and rinse under cold water until chilled.  Put aside.

In a medium sized bowl, mix the vinegar, mustard and sugar together with a whisk.  Slowly stream the olive oil into the mixture with one hand, whisking at the same time with the other.  This will help with the emulsion – if the vinaigrette breaks, keeping whisking  or add a little more mustard to help bring it back together.  Taste and season with salt and pepper.

In a large bowl, toss the greens with most of the vinaigrette, leaving a little to drizzle over the top of the salad when you serve it.  Place a handful of the dressed greens on a salad plate, top with several asparagus spears and sprinkle with the hard-boiled eggs.  Drizzle the remaining dressing over the asparagus or serve in a container for your guests to drizzle.

GREECE

I couldn't decide if I wanted to serve a rice pilaf or a simple pasta with butter and parmesan.  Orzo is somewhere in between the two, and proved a perfect accompaniment for the rest of the meal.

Creamy Orzo

2 packages Greek Orzo pasta

3-4 tablespoons unsalted butter

½ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Bring a large pot of water with 1 tablespoon of kosher salt to boil.  Add the orzo to the water and stir.  Cook to al dente, about 8 minutes.  Drain in a colander, return to the pot and mix in the butter and parmesan.  Taste and season with salt and pepper accordingly.  Serve immediately or cover to keep warm until serving.

LATIN AMERICA

A Mojo sauce hails from all over the Latin American map, as well as from Spain and Portugal.  Mojo sauces are predominantly flavored by garlic. The one I used, which was adapted from a recipe of the late great Sheila Lukins, is heavy on garlic but the central flavor is of citrus and cilantro.  It is delicious served over meats as well as seafood.  

Roasted Fresh Ham with Citrus Mojo Sauce

Adapted from a recipe by Sheila Lukins

Mojo Sauce:

16 cloves garlic, thinly sliced lengthwise

1 cup finely slivered onion

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 cups fresh orange juice (from three or four oranges)

1/2 cup fresh lime juice (from 2-3 limes)

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

In a medium bowl, combine garlic, onion, cumin and salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over low heat. Add the onion mixture and cook, stirring, until softened, about 10 minutes.

Add the orange juice, lime juice and vinegar and cook another 5 minutes for the flavors to blend. Cool to room temperature. Makes 4 cups.

For the Ham:

11-12 pound fresh boneless ham

2 cups Mojo Sauce

1 1/2 cups dry white wine

For the Gravy:

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley

1 cups chicken broth, if needed

pan juices from the ham, defatted and strained

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Carefully score the surface of the ham in a diamond pattern, making the cuts about 1 inch deep (this allows the meat to absorb the sauce). Place the ham in a large shallow roasting pan, and pour 1 cup of the Mojo Sauce all over the meat.  Roast for 30 minutes.

Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F and baste the ham with 1/3 cup of the wine.  Continue roasting, basting every 30 minutes: alternating basting with 1/3 cup portions of the remaining Mojo Sauce and 1/3 cup portions of the remaining wine, and eventually with the pan juices.  Cook until an instant-read thermometer registers 160 degrees F in the thickest part of the meat, about 4 1/2 hours. Do not overcook the ham; it will continue to cook after it comes out of the oven.

Place the ham on a large decorative platter and tent it with aluminum foil.  Let it rest for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, pour the pan juices through a strainer into a gravy separator, discarding any solids.  There should be 4 cups of defatted pan juices.

Prepare the gravy: Melt the butter in a medium-size heavy saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the flour, whisking constantly and cook until it browns slightly, 2-3 minutes. Continue whisking as you slowly pour in 2 cups of the reserved pan juices whisking until smooth. Raise the heat to medium and add the oregano and salt and pepper.  Simmer, whisking until the gravy has thickened. If you prefer a thinner gravy, whisk in some of the chicken broth, 1/4 cup at a time, until the gravy is to your liking. Taste, and adjust the seasonings as needed; then stir in the parsley.

Carve the ham, and arrange on a platter, covering with aluminum foil as you work to keep the slices warm.  Serve with the Mojo Sauce and the pan gravy.

UNITED STATES/ENGLAND

Pound Cake can be found in both English and early American cookbooks or recipes.  

I have great luck with the recipes from King Arthur Flour, so I was happy to test their Lemon Pound Cake for this menu.  Delicious.  However, I thought it might be more sophisticated a dessert married to an herb.  Thyme,rosemary... or perhaps lavender would lend itself well.

However rosemary won me over after reading about a legend claiming that rosemary bushes grow to the height of Jesus before he was crucified; if they live longer than his 33 years, they will grow larger in breadth only. I have no proof of the science supporting this legend, but I now plan to include rosemary in all my Easter menus.

I served the cake with fresh strawberries and vanilla ice cream.

Lemon-Rosemary Pound Cake

Adapted from Lemon-Glazed Pound Cake recipe by King Arthur Flour

Cake:

1 3/4 sticks (14 tablespoons) unsalted butter

3 ounces cream cheese

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 ¼ cups all purpose unbleached flour

½ cup whole wheat pastry flour (or all purpose unbleached flour)

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 tablespoons lemon zest

1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary

5 large eggs

Lemon Glaze:

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup granulated sugar

Cake: Preheat your oven to 350°F and grease two 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pans or one tube or bundt-style pan. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, beat together the butter and cream cheese until soft and fluffy. Add the salt, sugar, flour and baking powder, vanilla, lemon zest, and rosemary and beat for 5 minutes; the batter will be stiff. 

Add 1 egg. Beat well. Continue to add the eggs, one at a time, beating well and scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl after each addition. When done, the batter will be very fluffy. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan(s). 

Bake the cake for 55 to 60 minutes (for the tube or bundt-style pans) or 35 to 40 minutes (for the two loaf pans), or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. 

Glaze: Just before the cake is done, combine the lemon juice and sugar and heat over low heat (or in the microwave) till the sugar is dissolved; don't let the mixture boil. 

Remove the cake from the oven; allow it to cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Turn it out onto a wire rack or serving platter. Poke the top all over with a cake tester or toothpick, and gradually drizzle the glaze over it, pausing occasionally to let it sink in. Allow the cake to cool for several hours before slicing. Yield: about 16 servings. 

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