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At the Gulf of Naples, people give each other big chocolate eggs for Easter, which are filled with a surprise. Some chocolate shops, for example, produce artful chocolate eggs, which you can
have filled with an individual present.
In Naples, every day of the Easter season is characterized by a different culinary delicacy: On Thursday before Easter, people traditionally prepare boiled
artichokes with olive oil, salty Ricotta, and two different kinds of Neapolitan salami (fellata). Also, as a tradition, the pastiera cake is made, but it can’t be tasted until Sunday.
In the past, people fasted on Good Friday, but that tradition has changed: Today, they prepare fish from the Gulf and serve it simply with lemon and olive oil.
After the light Friday dish, il casatiello, also called tortano,
is on the menu for Saturday. Il casatiello is a kind of round bread made from yeast dough with lard, pepper, and salt. Then, two different kinds of Neapolitan salami, bacon, Parmesan cheese, Pecorino, boiled eggs, smoked
ham, and a lot of pepper are knead into the dough. Four raw eggs are put in the dough for decoration, and then it goes in the oven. The casatiello is not exactly a low-calorie dish, but it is very delicious!
On
Easter Sunday, people have a big meal:
Starter: Salty Ricotta, two kinds of Neapolitan salami, and boiled eggs
First course: Minestra maritata (a kind of vegetable soup) or crostatata di tagliolini (pasta au
gratin)
Second course: Lamb stew with cheese, eggs, and baked potatoes and a salad as a side dish
Dessert: The famous pastiera. Every Neapolitan associates this cake made from boiled wheat, Ricotta and candied
lemon peel with Easter, and its smell accompanies every day of the Easter season.
Easter Monday: On this day, all across Italy, people take a trip to the sea or to the countryside. They prepare a frittata di maccheroni (Maccheroni baked with eggs) for a picnic, and the leftover casatiello from Saturday and the pastiera are also in the picnic basket.
Another Easter tradition is the cake called colomba, which is shaped like a dove, its name is Colomba.
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