Easter Sunday

Vatican City photo courtesy of ds-lands.com

The holiday of new beginnings could not be more appropriately timed with the two words, "Habemus Papam", delivered from the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. Easter is a holiday to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus and to spread universal joy for our salvation. The world's Catholic community is filled with hope and a renewed ambition for faith through the installation of Pope Francis. Easter Sunday should be celebrated with extra special attention through traditional Italian food served given all of the recent events in Vatican City.

While certainly it is not a requirement to be Catholic or Italian to feast on the decadent Italian Easter Pie, known as Pizzagaina, a pie filled to the maximum with various Italian meats and cheeses served on Easter Sunday is meant to be enjoyed by all. The Easter Pie is a perfect community dish, for its massive size and for its palatable components. There are multiple versions of the Italian Easter Pie, even sweet variations, mostly handed down within families (particularly from Nonna- grandmother in Italian), with a recipe to their meat and cheese liking. For a lovely and authentic rendition follow the Pizzagaina recipe here on Always Order Dessert, which also provides suggestions for adapting the recipe to taste preference and accessibility. 
Easter has been represented with candy, eggs, and bunnies in the modern versions of celebration, but can be wrangled back to traditional with another nod to Italy by serving gelato. Spring, new growth, and a fresh attitude towards an Easter Sunday menu align with serving a simple scoop of gelato to guests. For the theme and thrill that children have come to experience in connection to holidays, gelato in the form of an Easter egg shaped cake can be served to adhere to those visions. Spend Easter Sunday with an expanded guest list and traditional Italian menu components and dive into sharing the community celebration that is well deserved this year.

A Pino Gelato Easter Cake