Written by: Christina Kopana
Translated by: Denise Morfiris

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Fresh vegetables, artichokes, cauliflower, broccoli, winter potatoes, beets, lettuce, scallions, fresh green spices, fresh virgin olive oil, fragrant lemons, golden oranges, the years best vintage homemade wines, freshly laid eggs. These are some of the bountiful offerings of spring, with lamb and goat being in the forefront because the babies have been born and are growing fat on rich, abundant spring grasses. Who would slaughter a chicken who was in her egg laying period? No one. And so, we have eggs on the table and they must be used. We can hard boil them and strike them together to see who breaks the other ones egg as a sign of luck (a Greek Easter tradition) or we can make egg salad etc.

With the abundance of fresh vegetables available, large salads made with lettuce, beets, boiled potatoes, fresh scallions and green spices combined with good olive oil and homemade vinegar can be made. Vegetables for cooking and ideas for many different dishes using lamb and goat are available. An example is "Agginarato", a dish from Crete using artichokes. In this dish, if artichokes are not available another seasonal vegetable can be substituted. New ideas for using lamb and goat are needed to use up the meat. After the winter and the birth of these animals there is an over abundance of them and they must be slaughtered or they will die of starvation in the summer when there is not enough grass to feed them all.

Little cheese is used because most of the winter supply has been used up and the newly made cheeses are not yet ready for consumption. This is not a problem though since the protein and fats our bodies need are found in the eggs and meat we eat. Eggs and meat are eaten in large quantities at this time of year because of the Orthodox Greek religion and ecological needs.

The main meats of spring are lamb and goat. The basic reason for this is that the meat available must be used at this time or else the animals will have a difficult time finding food after the summer. In other words, for their survival. Thus, between religion, tradition and spring cuisine, Greek Easter leads us to the best (tastiest) worthwhile Easter sacrifice of lambs and goats.

After the animals are slaughtered, nothing is thrown away. Heads, bodies, intestines, livers, bellies, feet. Everything is used. The intestines should be used first since they spoil the quickest.

After the fasting before Easter, on the night of The Resurrection of Christ, we wait patiently outside the church for the "Holy Light" and the calling out of "Christ has Risen", so we can go home and eat "Magiritsa" (liver and lettuce soup) and other delicious and filling foods.

Housewives have always found, and are still finding ways to come up with new cooking ideas (recipes) that are good and that use up all of the meat until nothing is left. The Easter Tart from Xania, Crete is a creative example with its thick pastry crust on top and a filling of cubed pieces of lamb thigh, mixed with good mizithra cheese, salt and pepper, all baked together in the oven. Agginarato (artichoke)or Laxanikato (cabbage), if artichokes are not available. These are found all over Crete.

In Easter gastronomy lamb and goat rule over everything as do the freshest cheeses, eggs, fresh vegetables and the combining of whatever ingredients a particular area has to offer. After the Christmas slaughter of large numbers of pigs, the next slaughter is the Easter slaughter of lamb and goats. The pork that had been prepared in homes has slowly been used up in the making of tsigarides, lountza, sausages.. names that give the meat the flavor of winter. Lambs and goats weren't slaughtered during the winter because they were too small and weak and thus, their meat was not sufficient for peoples needs. Meats that had been preserved were used by families until Easter. The lambs and goats were fat by this time and had given birth to their young who also grew quickly by eating the abundant, fresh grass that was available. They were then sacrificed in the HOLY tradition of Orthodoxy for the Easter celebration.

In the western Peloponnesus the Lambratiko Krasomezes (Easter tidbits served with wine) are made with lamb liver, garlic, and scallions. This mixture is wrapped in the membrane that protects the lambs' back and is then baked in the oven.

On the islands in the Aegean Sea with the small amount of wood the islands produce, baking is done on embers in a closed utensil be it a covered pot, a clay baking pot, etc. Goat in a pot is a dish they make. They rub the goat well with lemon juice and lemon essence from the peel, and sprinkle it with salt and pepper. They then take pieces of garlic and insert them into slits they have made in the meat. They add olive oil to the pot, cover it well and leave it on the embers to cook all night.

On the island of Sifnos they are noted for their Krasato Arnaki (lamb marinated in wine). They salt and pepper the lamb and then marinate it in good local red wine. It is then baked in a clay oven pot. Each family uses a pot that they have written their name on. They do this so their pots won't get mixed up since all the pots are put in the oven when it is time for the food to be cooked.