L'Italo-Americano

www.italoamericano.org 10 THURSDAY, APRIL 2, 2020 L'Italo-Americano market shelves, filled with p r e s e r v a t i v e s a l t o g e t h e r . Now, if meat is a must on my own family's Venetian table, desserts are the sine qua non on that of my bet- t e r h a l f , w h o i s f r o m C o s e n z a , i n C a l a b r i a . Typical of the period, and rigorously made at home, is the cullura, a large, soft tarallo filled with eggs. My surprise dish? I'll have to w a i t E a s t e r m o r n i n g a n d see where the roads of fla- vor will lead me." N i c o l e t t a ' s T u s c a n Easter, between tradi- tions and modernity "In recent years, Tuscan families have been celebra- ting Easter lightheartedly and in freedom, especially w h e n c o m p a r e d w i t h C h r i s t m a s a n d w i t h t h e past. We tend to travel for E a s t e r , s o m e t i m e s e v e n abroad. O n c e u p o n a t i m e , a quintessential ritual of the period was the pulizie di Pasqua, Easter cleaning (or Spring cleaning, to say as we do more commonly), which had to be categori- cally carried out before the local priest would come to bless the house. The climax of Easter celebrations hap- pened at the very heart of Florence where, on Easter Sunday, just in front of the D u o m o , t h e s p e c t a c u l a r Scoppio del Carro would take place. While the tradi- tion is still alive and well, it w o n ' t u n f o r t u n a t e l y take place this year, for t h e r e a s o n s w e a l l k n o w . The ceremony would start at 10 in the morning, when the Carro, also known as B r i n d e l l o n e , p a r a d e d through the streets of the city center, filled with fire works and preceded by flag throwers, until he reached t h e s q u a r e i n f r o n t o f S a n t a M a r i a d e l F i o r e . Here, at 11, the colombi- na, a dove-shaped rocket symbolizing the Holy Spirit, would fly out of the church to set the Carro on fire, star- t i n g a b r e a t h t a k i n g f i r e w o r k s s h o w . I f t h e colombina stopped on its path, it meant the harvest w a s a t r i s k . T o d a y , t h e Scoppio del Carro is a favorite among tourists, but n o t s o m u c h a m o n g Florentines. Easter lunch has its clas- sics: the blessed boiled egg, liver crostini, lamb and the pan di ramerino, a tradi- t i o n a l L e n t d e s s e r t . Children's chocolate eggs usually always hold a little s u r p r i s e . P a s q u e t t a , i n Tuscany as everywhere in Italy, is the day of "la gita fuori porta," that is, a pic- nic in the countryside. But t h i s y e a r , j u s t l i k e t h e S c o p p i o d e l C a r r o , w e ' l l have to forget about it. F r a n c e s c a a n d t h e d e l i c a c i e s o f a Piedmontese Easter D u r i n g m y c h i l d h o o d , Easter was a pretty traditio- nal, very Piemontese affair. M y g r a n d m o t h e r w o u l d m a k e c a v a g n i n , l i t t l e b a s k e t s m a d e o f b r e a d dough with an egg inside. In the days just before Easter, she would always bring me small chocolate eggs cove- r e d i n s u g a r g l a z e t h a t l o o k e d j u s t l i k e t h e r e a l thing; she used to tell me how her own mother would buy one for her too, when she was little, but that she w a s n ' t a l l o w e d t o e a t i t before Easter Sunday. Great g r a n d m a w o u l d h i d e i t , grandma continued, among real fresh eggs, coming from the family's chicken coop. In the kitchen, it was always h e r , g r a n d m a , t o r e i g n s u p r e m e a t E a s t e r : w e ' d have deviled eggs, invol- tini di prosciutto (ham slices filled with home made m a y o n n a i s e a n d c a p e r s , covered in jelly), and sala- me di tonno (a tuna and b r e a d c r u m b s l o g s e r v e d with fresh mayo) as starters, followed with fresh ravioli s h e w o u l d m a k e , u s u a l l y s e r v e d w i t h b u t t e r a n d s a g e s a u c e , a s w e d o i n P i e m o n t e , a n d t h e n , o f course, roast lamb with p o t a t o e s . B u t b e f o r e lunch, we'd all go to mass, the one at 11 in the mor- ning, the air filled with the scents of Spring, a not so far promise, for us children, of the arrival of Summer and t h e e n d o f s c h o o l . F o r Pasquetta, grandma would prepare a delicious pastry- free torta pasqualina, m a d e w i t h " e r b e t t e " (Swiss chard), egg, parme- san, rice and sausage. A s I l i v e d a b r o a d f o r many years, I've only recen- tly returned to celebrate a Piemontese Easter. I have a n o l d e r b r o t h e r a n d w e s p e n t t h e d a y t o g e t h e r , along with other relatives. O n o u r t a b l e , g r a n d m a ' s c l a s s i c s a r e a m u s t a n d , today, I make some of them myself. A couple of years ago, thanks to a lady from her own village, I finally got the recipe for that rice torta p a s q u a l i n a g r a n u s e d t o make. Thirty years at least had passed since the last t i m e w e h a d i t a n d , f o r a small second, we both thou- ght to be children again. Spanish Quarter, empty street, Naples (Photo: Dreamstime) An empty Piazza della Signoria, in Florence (Copyright: Dreamstime) Via Po, a Torino (Copyright: Dreamstime) Continued from pg 8

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