The traditional beginning of the Neapolitan Easter meal, this is by today's standards somewhat heavy. Should you prefer, make broth and serve it with tagliolini (similar to tagliatelle but about an eighth of an inch across). If you intend to follow tradition, this recipe is after Cavalcanti, the great Neapolitan gastronome of the mid-1800s. To serve 6:

• 3/4 pound breast of veal
• 1 pound beef shank
• 3/4 pound pig's tails (substitute lean pork if you prefer)
• 3/4 pound Neapolitan sausages
• 1/2 pound Neapolitan salami
• Fresh parsley and thyme
• Marjoram
• A little bit of rosemary
• 1 teaspoon tomato paste
• 1 medium-sized onion
• 1.5 quarts water
• 5 pounds cardoons stripped of their fibrous threads, or 5 pounds leafy vegetables (savoy cabbage, lettuce, beet greens etc.)
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• Salt (to be added at the end)
• Pepper or hot pepper to taste

On Easter Eve make broth using the meat and the herbs; begin with cold water to cover and place the herbs in a gauze pouch so you can remove them easily when the broth is done (an hour or somewhat more simmering; taste the liquid and correct seasoning). Remove and discard the herbs. Remove the meat from the broth, pluck it from the bones, and set it in a bowl, with enough broth to cover.

The next day skim the fat from the bowl and the soup pot and stir in the wine. Scrub chop and boil the greens until almost done, drain them well, and finish cooking them in the broth with the meats, seasoning to taste. Serve with slices of toasted bread. (via Nina)

Call it matza as they do in England and the United States or call it matzot as they do in Israel, but the unleavened bread associated first with the exodus from Egypt and today with the traditional Passover
meal known as the seder, is a problem. With the approach of Passover (the eve of which falls this year on 7 April) Jews the world over, prepare for two major culinary events. The first will be the Passover Seder at which everyone will overeat and the second is the onslaught of matza. Even though overeating is perfectly acceptable behavior at the Seder, the preparation and consumption of the meal generally leaves both the cook and those who have partaken in the Seder quite exhausted.

As to matzot, while such dishes as chicken soup with kneidelach (matzo dumplings), fried matzot and slices of matzot spread thickly with chicken fat are a delight, there is simply a limit to how much
matzo any human being can eat before the stomach and lower digestive systems begin to rebel.

One of the joys of living in Israel is that immigrants from all over the world have brought with them a host of marvelous dishes, many of which, even though they contain only the vaguest traces of
matzo, are perfectly suited for the advent of Passover. Such treats, whether from Jewish homes in Morocco or Ethiopia, Uruguay or Greece, will satisfy the most rigorous standards of tradition and each of the following dishes will provide light and pleasant dining during eight day long holiday. All are easy to prepare and although some are meant to be served hot and others cold, nearly all of the work can be done in advance and finished off just before eating. (via Nina)

Today, in similar fashion, many devout Christians abstain from eating meat during the forty days preceding Easter. During Holy Week, the seven days before the holiday, some, especially members of the Greek, Ethiopian and Armenian Orthodox churches, even eliminate eggs, milk and fish from their diet. Communion is taken on the day before Easter, which always falls on a Sunday and, on Saturday night church services begin at ten in the evening. In many nations, one of the most beautiful highlights of the holiday is the rich, ceremonial midnight mass.

Regardless of whether one adheres to the teachings of the Roman Catholic church, the Greek, Russian or Armenian, or Ethiopian Orthodox churches or any of the many Protestant sects in Jerusalem, Easter Sunday is always a cause for celebration and feasting. The most beloved of dishes served on this day are based on lamb, for in addition to calling to mind the purity of Jesus, it also calls to mind the universal hope that "one day the wolf shall dwell with the lamb and they shall live in peace together". (via Nina)