An Easter menu

…Fabulous

Dr Michela De Petris

From this year on, no lamb or kid, but lots of… Fairy Kisses, Flashes of Genius and Witch Smells. Are you curious…? Good for you! Read on then…

The premises

In Italy, some 3,300,000 lambs just a few months old are slaughtered each year, and the Easter tradition leads to a dramatic increase in their slaughter. Kids and lambs are snatched from their mothers to be transported alive to slaughterhouses on exhausting ‘death journeys’, often for many kilometres (the slaughterhouse is rarely near the farm!), crammed into lorries without the possibility of moving, without drinking or eating, forced into cramped spaces (where they also have to relieve themselves), in the heat or cold (depending on their origin and destination), abandoned to their sad fate.

Exhausted by the journey, before being killed, they live terrible hours in front of the slaughterhouse, clearly perceiving what is going on around them: the noise of the machines, the smell of blood, the screams of their fellows, the terror that surrounds them and leads to the end of their short existence. Then, one by one, they are pushed onto conveyor belts, prodded with sticks to make them proceed, beaten if they resist and stunned in various ways (if they are lucky) to have their throats slit.

Yes, because the preventive stunning of animals for slaughter is compulsory, but it is not always respected. The submerged slaughter of puppies bred only to end up as corpses on our tables is perpetuated every day of the year, but especially at Easter: a festival of ‘peace and love’ (for whom? Certainly not for animals!) in the name of tradition.

Evidence

What if from this year we tried not to cook animals any more? It would mean: more fibre, more vitamins, antioxidants and minerals, zero cholesterol, zero saturated animal fats and more health; more energy, more mental clarity, less osteoporosis and less risk of cancer. And that’s not all: less pollution, less environmental impact, less carbon dioxide, less methane and less nitrous oxide with a greenhouse effect, less deforested forests, more resources for all, less world hunger, more joy, less exploitation of animals, more respect for the planet, more awareness and responsibility in our life choices… all this on a menu!

The turning point

Our task is to:

Going outside the box to avoid the cruel and uncivilised custom of putting poor puppies torn from their mothers on the table.

Create ‘our own tradition’ of respect, tolerance and health for all.

FABULOUS EASTER MENU

(the doses are for 4 happy people)

STARTERS

Love thrill
Firefly freckles
Scent of a hungry ogre

FIRST

Dragon courage
Flash of genius

SECOND

Fairy kiss

CONTENTS

Witch Stink
Pixie Whisper

SWEET

Laughter of a princess
Toad kissed…prince arrived

ANTIPASTI

LOVE THRILL
(dried cherry tomato pâté)

Put in the blender: 150 g of sun-dried tomatoes, a dozen capers, 2 tablespoons of parsley or basil already chopped, 1 pinch of chilli, 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, 1 pinch of salt Chop together all the components and use the cream to spread on slices of toast, biscuits or croutons.

FIREFLY FRECKLES
(dulse with corn and noodles)

Wash 1 cup of dulse seaweed under running water, let it soak for a few minutes, squeeze it out and cut it into pieces. Blanch 1⁄2 cup green beans in boiling water, then cut them into chunks. Pour 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil into a large frying pan and toss 1⁄2 cup of matchstick carrots, 1⁄2 cup of sliced leeks and 1 cup of corn kernels; add a pinch of salt, the seaweed and cook for another 3-4 minutes. Add the green beans, season with a few drops of tamari (soy sauce) and leave on the heat for another 2 minutes.

SCENT OF A HUNGRY OGRE
(flour omelette and chicory)

Fry 1 onion, 1 carrot and 1 bunch of finely chopped chicory in a little oil, season with salt. Put a cup of wholemeal flour in a bowl, add 3⁄4 cup of water and the vegetables (it should be a very thick cream). Pour the batter into a large frying pan greased with a little extra virgin olive oil and cook on both sides. Before serving, cut the omelette into strips and sprinkle with gomasio.

FIRST

LOVE THRILL
(dried cherry tomato pate)

Put 150 g dried tomatoes, a dozen capers, 2 tablespoons chopped parsley or basil, a pinch of chilli pepper, 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil and a pinch of salt into a blender. Chop all the ingredients together and use the cream to spread on slices of toasted bread, biscuits or croutons.

FIREFLY FRECKLES
(dulse with corn and noodles)

SCENT OF A HUNGRY OGRE
(flour omelette and chicory)

SECOND

FAIRY KISS
(Pasqualina cake)

For the dough: 400 g semi-whole-wheat flour, 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, 1 pinch of salt, water (alternatively, you can use frozen or fresh ready-made dough) For the filling: 500 g beets, 200 g velvety tofu, 1 tablespoon fresh marjoram or 1 teaspoon dried, 8 tablespoons tahin (sesame cream), 1 glass soy milk, 1 glass extra virgin olive oil, 1 pinch of salt. Mix the flour with the oil and salt; add enough lukewarm water to make a firm, soft dough (keep kneading until you see air bubbles appear). Cover with a damp cloth and leave to rest. Wash the chard and cook it in a saucepan for 10 minutes. As soon as they are cooked, squeeze them, chop them and put them in a bowl. Add the tahini, tofu, milk and marjoram. Roll out six thin sheets of pastry. Use 3 of them to line an openable mould (greased with oil) overlapping one sheet (to be greased with a little oil using the appropriate brush) on the other. Place the filling on top. Cover with the remaining sheets (following the same procedure). Seal with the scraps of pastry, forming a cordon around the edge. Grease the surface with a little oil and make small holes with a toothpick. Bake in a preheated oven at 200°C for 40 minutes.

WITCH’S PUZZETTE
(herbs or spinach with sultanas and pine nuts)

Soak 30 g sultanas in a little warm water for 10 minutes. Quickly toast 30 g of pine nuts in a frying pan. Blanch 700 g of herbs (or spinach) in boiling water with a pinch of salt; drain, squeeze and cut into strips. Grease a frying pan with a little extra-virgin olive oil, add the herbs and sultanas and fry everything. Serve hot and garnish with pine nuts.

LEPRECHAUN WHISPER
(vegetable stew with saffron)

Fry 1 chopped onion, 500 g of fennel and 500 g of diced potatoes in a little extra-virgin olive oil; moisten with vegetable stock and stew for 15 min. Add 200 g spinach and 1 sachet of saffron diluted in 100 ml soya milk. Continue cooking for 10 minutes, adding salt to taste before serving.

SWEET

PRINCESS LAUGHTER
(rose sorbet)

Soak 200 g of rose petals in 500 ml of water and leave to infuse for 2-3 hours to flavour the water. Strain, add 100 g of rice malt and 1 pinch of vanilla powder. Mix well and prepare the sorbet according to the instructions of your ice cream maker. Garnish with fresh rose petals.

KISSED TOAD… PRINCE ARRIVED
(red fruits couscous cake)

Bring one cup of apple juice with 1 pinch of salt and 1⁄2 cup of raisins to a boil. Add one cup of couscous, turn off the heat and cover, allowing to swell for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, make the sauce with 2 tablespoons of light almond cream, 1 tablespoon of rice malt and a few tablespoons of vegetable milk (rice, oats, spelt…) to soften. Stir 1⁄2 cup chopped walnuts into the cous-cous. Place half of the cereal in a baking dish, pressing it down well with damp hands. Spread the cream on top of the first layer, then pour in the other half of the cous-cous. Cover everything with 1 jar of red fruit jam and leave to cool in the fridge. Serve garnished with coconut flakes or chopped hazelnuts.

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