Easter Lunch is coming

If you live in Italy and are thinking about starting a diet, maybe this is not the right time.

That’s because Easter Sunday is coming and a long queue has already started forming outside supermarkets and pastry shops to buy the traditional Easter foods. These can vary depending on the region, but some can be found all over Italy. Let’s start with the appetizers. The must-have foods are: fried artichokes, boiled eggs, cheese pizza (pizza al formaggio, a soft cheese bread), fava beans, pecorino romano (a salty Italian cheese) and a special Italian salami called corallina.

Moreover, we can’t forget the torta pasqualina, an Easter pie prepared with eggs, cheese (mainly ricotta, an Italian soft cheese) and vegetables.

The main course for the Easter lunch is the lamb, usually roasted with aromatic herbs, garlic and red wine, served with vegetables or roast potatoes. But you can choose to prepare only the lamb ribs (costolette), fried in extra virgin olive oil or cooked on the barbecue (have you ever heard about costolette alla scottadito?).

And if that wasn’t enough, you can go ahead and eat delicious traditional desserts. You just have to choose between chocolate eggs, the pastiera napoletana – a cake made with wheat, ricotta cheese, candied fruit and scented with orange-blossom water – and the colomba, a dove-shaped cake with candied fruit and almonds.

But wait, Italians have a passion for eating and the Monday after Easter Sunday – called “Pasquetta” or “Lunedì dell’angelo” – many people go out for a picnic and enjoy a long Pasquetta lunch. What are you waiting for? Get up and run to the gym… Easter lunch is coming!:)