Easter, for many, the opportunity to relax, maybe a trip, or a meeting with family and friends. For others, the revelation of another world, dignified, hope-giving, sacred, totally different from the world in our everyday life. If we well think, despite the linear sense of time, celebrations, either religious or personal, are going through a cyclical period to come back to us just like in ancient civilizations, except that they did not celebrate the past as we do. They celebrated the present, the advent of spring or the harvest or the first rains.
We know that the celebrations always ended with a great meal, back then they made a sacrifice first to satisfy the gods. Then they started the cooking for lunch, nowadays we first fill our stomach, later we thank the cook and gods position occupied by aluminium hydroxide.
Easter is considered to be the most important holiday in the Christian religion, celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ, celebrates the defeat of sin, death, and guilt. Because of the New Testament, in which Jesus Christ called "Lamb of God" whether believers or not, they are all eating lamb or goat depending on their region. Today, the short life of lambs of God concerns the lives of more than 2 million only in Europe and only during the Easter period.
Those who are in charge of this massive work are the butchers. I have met two butchers. They both had a specific style and ethos that suits me. Dario Cecchini the Panzano yeller, and Fred, the great Parisian butcher in the eleventh arrondissement. Both with respect and consciousness about their work. I associate with both of them to learn cuts that I have never seen before. Fred who has already gotten his retirement was the only one who spoke English "my French wasn't the best at that time", and who respond positively to my request to see and learn his cuts. He started to show me by telling me that the French are very traditional when they are filleting and cutting, so he travelled around Italy, Scotland and Argentina to gather new experiences. I immediately thought that he had never come to Greece, where even the minced meat is cutting wrong . He advised me to buy the whole lamb to chop it myself so that I can reduce the waste. So I did, we taught our customers what to expect when a lamb is on the list, the pieces were random but of excellent quality and perfectly cooked.
The main course during the Easter period describing like that: Agneau / Abats d'agneau/ Lettuce Romain citrone "first photo". I transferred to a dish the Greek Holy Saturday's dinner, a thick soup with lambs offal, rice, lettuce and fresh onion finely chopped with dill and lemon juice, and the Easters' festive lunch of the lamb on the spit with its offal thoroughly seasoned, wrapped in the gut. The ideal Greek wine we proposed at that time for this plate was if not the best one of the best red exist in Greece the Great & Marvellous Liatiko from Ekonomou in Sitia Crete.
The symbolic language of the crucifixion is the death of the old paradigm; resurrection is a leap into a whole new way of thinking. Deepak Chopra wisely said once. I Confirm, and I will supplement by saying that, We must do it with the required respect for the tradition and to ourselves.
Happy Easter to everyone!
