Vegan Easter

I grew up in a family in which, at Easter, the main dish was lamb. As traditional in Abruzzo, my father was very close to the culinary roots of his region: meat roasts, meat sauces and timballi dominated the holiday menu. While the memory of tradition is still the same, the desire to find some food experiences, which would be respectful of life in all its forms, has generated in me (as well as in many vegans, I believe) new habits and thoughts. 

Over time, I’ve passed from the research of something “similar”, of an organoleptic and formal substitute, to that of new flavours to which one could give an identity of their own. What could offer a vegan who wanted to serve something pleasurable, that could also serve as an emblem of the holiday, of rebirth and purification? Life and rebirth are celebrated with life. In the vegetal world seeds are channels for vital energy. Whole cereals, legumes and oily seeds enclose all this potential (try to put a grain of wheat, a bean or an almond into the ground after having left them to soak for a day). 

So here is my idea for a totally vegetal Easter menu.

Almond milk curd (using apple vinegar as rennet) with a carrot cream made with wild herbs (primrose leaves, dandelion, portulaca) and dried buckwheat sprouts with bergamot and Sichuan pepper. A fresh, creamy starter with spicy, floral and citrusy notes and different textures; the liveliness of the buckwheat sprouts is kept thanks to the drying at no more than 40°C. 

Spinach and dried fruit ravioli with pine seeds, fennel seeds and orange sauce. The dough is made with double-milled durum wheat and powdered spinach, dried at 40°C. The filling, prepared raw (thus keeping the aromas intact), is made using the almond pulp obtained while preparing the curd, plus fresh aromatic herbs, scallion, extra virgin olive oil and lemon. The sauce (also prepared raw) encloses the fresh note of orange with the warm ones of fennel, a mix that recalls the fragrance of an Indian curry.

<i>Germinated wheat tarts, with cocoa and dried apricots and a cream of cashew nuts and vanilla</i>

Germinated wheat tarts, with cocoa and dried apricots and a cream of cashew nuts and vanilla. This dessert contains a huge energy potential. The germinated wheat produces a much higher amount of enzymes, vitamins and minerals in comparison to un-germinated wheat. The flavour becomes naturally sweet. There’s no cooking involved so it preserves all its nutritional characteristics. The external involucre is made with chopped wheat sprouts mixed with cocoa, dried apricots and walnuts. The cream is made with cashew nuts, agave nectar (or cereal malt), powdered vanilla, curcuma, 90% dark chocolate pieces and pure coconut oil.

The options are truly endless, the rule to be followed is that of quality and respect for raw materials.