Greek Easter is a wonderful magical holiday.  It is full of many meaningful traditions.  In order for “Greek Easter” to be celebrated the same week as “American Easter,” Passover has to have been celebrated already. We Greeks don’t do Easter until after Passover, because how can you have Easter BEFORE Passover. Jesus went to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover, after all.

One of my kids favorite things are the red eggs. 

According to age-old Greek tradition, Easter eggs are dyed red. The red color represents the blood of Jesus Christ, whose resurrection is celebrated on the holiday of holidays throughout the Greek world. The egg itself represents the sealed tomb of Jesus from which he emerged following his crucifixion.

Tsoureki is a Greek Easter sweet bread that is typically braided and will have one or more red eggs baked into it.

The game of cracking— or “tsougrisma” as the Greeks call it symbolizes the breaking open of the tomb and Jesus Christ’s resurrection from the dead. The custom takes place after the Resurrection (on Easter Saturday at midnight or the following day during the Easter feasts). Two people compete by holding their respective egg in their hand and tapping at each other’s egg. The goal is to crack the other player’s egg. The winner, then, uses the same end of the egg to tap the other, non cracked end of the opponent’s egg. The “winner” is the one, whose egg will crack the eggs of all the other players.

  PASTITSO

Pastitso is similar to lasagna and a must have at any Greek gathering.  Our family’s recipe is a little different from what you’d get if you ordered it at a Greek restaurant, but we wouldn’t have it any other way!

INGREDIENTS

1 onion

2 lbs ground chuck

salt & pepper to taste

3 whole cloves

½ tsp cinnamon

2 rows Ritz crackers (finely crushed)

1 stick butter

1 lb macaroni

4 C milk

8 eggs

3 heaping TBS pancake flour

½ lb ground Romano

½ lb ground Parmesan

INSTRUCTIONS

Saute onion in butter then add meat, cloves, cinnamon, and brown.  My mother-in-law says not to drain the meat, but I drain about half of it.  The hardest part of this whole recipe, in my opinion, is finding and removing the cloves.  Sometimes I use a flashlight especially when I make a large pan and my meat and amount of cloves are doubled.

Cook the macaroni following the timing on the package.  Remember that pasta should always be boiled in water that’s “as salty as the sea” so add a good handful!

Misko macaroni #2 is what we use for pastitso.  The pasta looks like long tubes or hoses.

Beat 1 egg and mix though the cooked and drained macaroni. BE SURE THE MACARONI HAS COOLED ENOUGH SO THE EGG WON’T SCRAMBLE.

Place half the macaroni in a well greased 9 x 13 x 3 or 14 x 10 ½” pan.  Add the meat.  Add half the cheese.  Add the other half of the macaroni and then the rest of the cheese.

In a separate bowl, beat 7 eggs, then add 3 cups of milk, and 3 heaping TBS of pancake flour.  Whisk well and pour over pan.  Top with crackers and drizzle melted butter on top.

Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees covered.  Bake an additional ½ uncovered to brown.  I usually leave tinfoil around the edges of the pan so they don’t get dry.  If a knife comes out clean, it’s done!  Let it sit for a ½ hour or so before serving.

Apolamvano! (Enjoy!)