Two favourite Greek Easter recipes made with my gluten-free wholefoods twist
Becca Crawford
Greek Easter is the biggest event in the Greek Orthodox calendar and every year I look forward to the rituals, ceremonies, and feast following midnight mass that has been part of my upbringing and my family’s culture for eons.
I love the dying and the cracking of the coloured eggs (there’s a secret technique to winning which is taken VERY seriously).
I fondly remember mum giving me the special responsibility of setting the dining table with the family’s finest cutlery and crockery in the formal dining room of the house which is ONLY EVER used for Greek Easter.
We all would complain how mum would want to stay to the ABSOLUTE VERY END of the liturgy (bless her cotton socks) while the rest of us left hours earlier and had to wait for her return before we could eat.
And even in my sleep deprived state, I marvelled at how beautiful the food looked on the table after midnight mass as a way to celebrate the breaking of our fast (well, mum’s fast!).
As a little girl I would be allowed to sip Cypriot brandy with the adults in teeny glasses (which helped to cultivate a healthy relationship with alcohol as it meant that it had no stigma or unhealthy desire).
With Greek Easter fast approaching (the first weekend in May 2021) I am looking forward to celebrating again with my family on the GC. Of course it is not the same since mum left us, but her feisty spirit lives on. I am also looking forward to the annual dusting off of these 2 family recipes that are now donning my gluten-free wholefoods twist:
Avoylemoni soupa (Greek egg, lemon and rice soup) - I made sure that the rice is properly prepared (soaked overnight) to maximise nutrient density and digestibility, and minimise anti-nutrients.
2. Cypriot flaounes (cheese and currant slice) – this recipe is from my parent’s homeland of Cyprus (not Greece) so it might be new to some Greek folks. I substituted activated buckwheat flour instead of wheat flour and ensured that the currants are soaked to bring them back to wholefoods. The taste is incredible similar to the real deal but these are so much healthier being gluten-free.
For those who are not Greek or Cypriot, I encourage you to give these 2 recipes a go as I am sure your kids will LOVE them as much as mine do! They contain nutrient-dense wholesome ingredients that are very satiating.
And oh, If you want to dye some eggs (a symbol of new life and rebirth) naturally without the toxic colour dye, you might like to try some of these natural colouring suggestions:
Yellow – boil eggs with turmeric powder for 30 minutes.
Red – boil eggs in red onion skins and/or beetroots for 30 minutes (I remember my aunty saving all her red onion skins all year round to use them for this purpose once a year…boy were her eggs red!!!).
Do you have any other favourite natural egg colouring solutions?
To my fellow Greek and Cypriot comrades (and everyone else for that matter), no matter what your beliefs are or where you are reading this newsletter from, I wish you all Kali Pasha (a Happy Greek Easter!) and Christos Anesti!
Love Soulla xx