Easter Feast
Like all Judeo-Christian celebrations, Sabbath and Sunday included, Easter is all about getting the day off work and eating.
Well, that’s not what it’s all about, but God certainly knows us well enough to prescribe a feast when He wants us to remember something. He’s good.
Easter morning at the Marion dining room table. Candy, then breakfast.
Even though most Jewish holidays have specific food commandments attached to them, and the Christian Communion is a bread-and-wine meal instituted by Jesus Himself, scripture doesn’t actually define any religiously symbolic foods for Easter. In fact, scripture doesn’t even prescribe Easter as a holiday. So every culture that’s embraced Christianity has had the freedom to get creative with traditions. Maybe that explains the whole Easter Bunny thing.
In America, we generally feature lamb or ham for the dinner. Lamb is an obvious choice, since Jesus is called “The Lamb of God” both in prophetic and New Testament scriptures. And ham is almost a uniquely Christian food since Jews and Muslims are forbidden to eat pork, while many Hindus and some Buddhists also abstain. Most of our other Easter food traditions seem to be just practical choices based on the bounty of spring. Which makes perfect sense. I consider myself very fortunate to be a Christian celebrating Easter in North America – here Spring and The Resurrection are simultaneously occurring mirror images, each miracle making sense of the other.
This year, Easter at Circle M was a true harvest fest. We had both lamb and ham fresh from our fields, so we featured both. And what a feast it was! We also had eggs, which are suddenly so ubiquitous in our henhouses and barns that it’s easy to recognize the origin of the frenzied Easter Egg Hunt. We hard-boiled and put them on romaine salad, and we made rich custard for dessert, which we fancied up with shaved dark chocolate and toasted pinenuts. We also ate asparagus spears, another emblem of spring which will soon be in season here, though we had to pick them at the grocery store.
Here are the best recipe inventions of this year’s holiday:
Circle M Marinade
Mustard
Marmalade
Maraschino Cherries in Juice
This is a great way to spring clean the fridge door shelves, and also do something a little different with your smoked ham. In a medium bowl, mix together the ends of whatever mustard you have, preferably some with seeds and more complexity than the typical hot dog type. Add a jar or so of orange marmalade, softened briefly in the microwave or under hot water. Stir in a jar of maraschino cherries, or whatever is left of a jar. Braise the ham every hour or so as you bake it. When you remove the ham from your roasting pan or Dutch oven to slice it, thicken the juices in the pan with a bit of flour and simmer until thickened. Pass with dinner.
Maidmarion’s Shepherdess Pie
1 lb ground lamb
1 lb lamb stew meat
1 large onion, minced
6 potatoes, diced
6 carrots, diced
3 C beef or lamb stock
Salt, pepper, parsley
Cook lamb in large pot for about a half hour. Add vegetables and stock, simmer for another half hour or until meat is tender. Season to taste with about 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp pepper and a shake of parsley. Transfer to large casserole. Prepare Cream Biscuits, below, and drop to cover surface of stewed meat and vegetables.
Cream Biscuits
2 C. flour
1 t salt
2 t baking powder
1 T sugar
1/2 to 3/4 C heavy cream
1/2 C sour cream
4 t butter, melted
Combine flour, salt, baking powder and sugar in large mixing bowl. In a small bowl, whisk 1/2 C of cream and the sour cream. Slowly add to dry ingredients, mixing lightly with a fork. Do not over-handle the dough. Add a little more cream if needed. Drop by 1/4 cups onto surface of stew in casserole. Brush with melted butter. Bake at 425 for 15-20 minutes.
