How does the world feast at Easter? There is inspiration here from Argentina, Finland and Lebanon.
Easter is just around the corner. Christianity’s oldest festival is celebrated all over the world. Holy Saturday (this year on March 30th) marks the end of the 40-day Lent – from then on you can feast again. In this country, delicacies such as the classic Easter lamb, juicy yeast braids and of course colorfully painted eggs are served on the table at Easter. And what do those with a sweet tooth eat in other corners of the world? Here you can find inspiration from Greece, Argentina and Co.
Tsoureki from Greece
Tsoureki is a yeast bread eaten in Greece on Easter Sunday and is considered a symbol of fertility and sight. It contains red-colored Easter eggs that symbolize the blood of Christ, but also spring and rebirth. The spices mastic and machlepi give the tsoureki a special taste.
Ingredients: 500 g flour, 1 packet of dry yeast, 150 ml lukewarm milk, 100 g sugar, 3 eggs, 1 pinch of salt, 50 g butter, 1 organic orange, 4 green cardamom pods, 05, tsp grated machlepi (or as a substitute nutmeg and vanilla), 0.5 tsp ground mastic (or lemon zest as a substitute), 1 egg yolk and 3 tbsp milk for brushing, sesame seeds for sprinkling, 5 boiled, red-colored eggs
Preparation: Place flour, sugar, yeast and the remaining dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix. Add butter in flakes, lukewarm milk and beaten eggs and mix.
Knead into a smooth dough with your hands on a floured work surface, shape it into a ball and let it rise, covered, for about two hours. Knead the risen yeast dough again and shape it into a plait or wreath, as desired, and place it on a baking tray lined with baking paper.
Place the five Easter eggs evenly spaced on the braid. and let it rise for another 30 minutes. Brush with the egg yolk and milk mixture and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees top/bottom heat and bake for 35 to 40 minutes.
Torta Pascualina from Argentina
The Torta Pascualina is a hearty cake made from puff pastry, spinach and eggs and is traditionally eaten at Easter in Argentina. The name is derived from the Spanish word for Easter, “Pascua”.
Ingredients: 400 g puff pastry (2 sheets), 1 kg fresh leaf spinach, nutmeg, 6 tablespoons olive oil, 2 eggs, 500 g ricotta, 6 hard-boiled eggs, 70 g grated Parmesan
Preparation: Wash spinach and blanch briefly in boiling water. Then quench, squeeze out and chop finely. Mix in a bowl with salt, nutmeg and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Mix 2 eggs with the ricotta and 40 g Parmesan and stir in the spinach.
Place a sheet of puff pastry in a buttered springform pan so that it protrudes slightly over the edge. Then pour the spinach and ricotta filling into the mold.
Peel the hard-boiled eggs, place them evenly in the filling and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan. Brush the second sheet of dough with oil and place it on top, roll the overlapping edges of the dough inwards and press down.
Prick the dough lightly several times with a fork or decorate with a knife. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and bake the puff pastry cake until golden brown, about 60 minutes.
Ma’amoul from Lebanon
In Lebanon and other Middle Eastern countries, ma’amoul, small filled pastries, are traditionally eaten at Easter. Their dough is made from semolina dough and is often filled with dates, walnuts or almonds. Ma’amoul usually have a typical decoration that requires a ramekin.
Ingredients: 250 g butter, 500 g durum wheat semolina, 250 g soft wheat semolina, 100 g sugar, 1 teaspoon Mahleb (or nutmeg or vanilla as a substitute), 0.5 teaspoon dry yeast, 50 ml lukewarm milk, 3 tablespoons rose water, 3 tablespoons orange blossom water, 370 g pitted dates, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, powdered sugar
Preparation: Steam the dates in a sieve over boiling water until soft, cool and gradually blend in a blender to form a sticky paste.
Mix in the cinnamon and place in the refrigerator. For the cookie dough, put the dry ingredients in a bowl, add butter in flakes and mix by hand. Then drizzle rose water and orange water over it, mix and put in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Form small balls out of the date paste, flatten a piece of dough with your hand and close it around the ball. Form the dough balls in the Ma’amoul mold, place them on a baking tray lined with baking paper and bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees top/bottom heat for about 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool and roll in powdered sugar.
Mämmi from Finland
Mämmi is a pudding-like dessert made from rye flour, water, malt and syrup, whose history dates back to the Middle Ages. At that time it was eaten as a fast breaker after the strict fasting period. It is still an Easter classic in Finland today. Attention: You have to take a lot of time to prepare Mämmi!
Ingredients for ten servings: 7 l water, 2 kg rye flour, 500 g rye malt, 3 tbsp molasses, 2 tsp salt, 4 tbsp grated orange peel
Preparation: Heat 2 liters of water in a pot to 60 degrees and add 25 g rye malt and 50 g rye flour; Mix well to form a thin porridge and sprinkle with a little more rye flour and malt. Close the pot with a lid and let the porridge steep for an hour. The porridge must remain warm, but should under no circumstances boil.
Then add another liter of water, rye flour and malt and let it rest for an hour. The whole thing is repeated until the seven liters of water are used up. Once the porridge is ready, it is cooked for half an hour, stirring constantly.
Then add the syrup, salt and orange peel and mix well. Put the pot in the oven and bake at 150 degrees for one hour. Then pour it into an ovenproof bowl (only half of it, as the porridge bubbles when baking), sprinkle some sugar on top and bake at 140 degrees for about three hours. The finished Mämmi tastes particularly good with whipped cream, vanilla sauce or vanilla ice cream.
Hot Cross Buns from Great Britain
Hot cross buns are typically eaten on Good Friday in Great Britain and other Commonwealth countries. The traditional rolls consist of a fluffy yeast dough, spices, raisins and a piped dough cross that is supposed to represent the crucifixion. They are usually eaten with jam.
Ingredients for twelve pieces: 20 grams of fresh yeast, 250 ml milk, 500 g wheat flour, 70 g sugar, 1 medium egg, 70 g butter, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel, 1 vanilla pod, 1 pinch Cardamom, 1 pinch of ginger, 1 pinch of nutmeg, 100 g raisins, 2 tbsp orange juice, for the dough cross: 70 g flour, 60 ml water, 50 g apricot jam for brushing
Preparation: Soak the raisins in the orange juice. Crumble the yeast into a mug with half of the lukewarm milk. Add a teaspoon of sugar and stir until the sugar and yeast are dissolved.
Place the flour in a bowl and create a well in the middle. Pour in the lukewarm yeast-milk mixture and stir in a little flour from the sides. Cover the bowl with a cloth and let it rest in a warm place for about 20 minutes.
Add the remaining sugar, the remaining milk with the egg, butter, salt and spices and mix everything together. Knead the dough for about five minutes until it is smooth. Then fold in the drained raisins. Let the dough rise covered in a warm place for around an hour.
Knead the dough carefully again on a lightly floured work surface and then divide it into twelve equal portions, shape into round rolls and leave to rise for about 45 minutes on a baking tray lined with baking paper, leaving a little space between them.
Preheat the oven to 190 degrees top and bottom heat. For the cross, mix 70 grams of flour with 60 ml of water to form a thick mixture and pipe it onto the rolls using a piping bag.
Bake the rolls for around 15 to 20 minutes until golden. Warm the apricot jam with a little water and stir until smooth. Then brush the hot cross buns with it while they are still warm.