Delicious spread} Traditional foods served at Greek Easter include, from left, roasted lamb with potatoes and rosemary, tsourekia (bread), and hard-boiled eggs dyed red. Click for related story Photo by Alicia Santistevan

TASTE
Sacred celebration

Rich traditions fill Greek Easter table.

At the moment, if you are reading this in early March, Reno’s Greek Orthodox community is midway through a meatless-fishless-dairy-less fast. But come Easter Sunday, the fast ends and the scene shifts to food, family, and celebration.

Recipe for Avgolemono soup
Serves 4
After the eggs have been added, be sure not to let the soup come to a simmer or the eggs will curdle.

5 cups homemade or low-sodium store-bought chicken broth
8 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breast. Trimmed of fat
½ cup orzo
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
¼ cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
½ cup fresh dill sprigs
Freshly ground pepper

• Bring broth to a simmer in a 4-quart pot over high heat; add chicken. Reduce heat; simmer gently until chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer chicken to a bowl. Reserve broth in pot. Let chicken cool slightly, and then shred with a fork into bite size pieces.

• Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil. Add orzo; cook until al dente. Drain. Add orzo and chicken to reserved broth. Bring broth just to a gentle simmer and then reduce heat to low.

• Beat together eggs and lemon juice in a medium bowl until smooth. Ladle 1 cup hot broth into egg-lemon mixture, whisking constantly until mixture is warm to the touch. Stir the egg-broth mixture into the broth in the pot. Stir in the dill and season with pepper.

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Recipe for roast leg of lamb with red potatoes

One leg of lamb, boned and butterflied, excess fat/membrane trimmed (leave only a few streaks of fat to keep the meat moist)
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon finely minced fresh rosemary, plus a few fresh sprigs for garnish
2 large cloves of garlic cut lengthwise into slivers
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Small bag of red potatoes, skins-on and scrubbed
Kitchen twine

• Position a rack in the lower third of the over. Preheat oven to 450°.

• Cut 15 to 20 small evenly spaced silts around the surface of the roast and insert the garlic slivers.

• Rub olive oil over the surface of the roast.

• Combine salt, pepper and minced rosemary in a small bowl. Rub mixture on surface of the roast.

• Tie the roast together with kitchen twine and place in roasting pan. Place in oven and immediately reduce oven temperature to 325°.

• After 30 minutes place the potatoes around the bottom of the roasting pan.

• Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat reads 125° to 130° for medium-rare or 135° to 140° for medium, 1 ¼ to 1 ¾ hours. Remove from oven, cover loosely with aluminum foil and let stand for 15 to 20 minutes before carving.

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Recipe for Tsoureki
Traditional Greek Easter Bread

2 packages active dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
1/3 cup warm water
1 ½ cups warm milk
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 ½ cups sugar
2 teaspoons ground mahlepi *
½ teaspoon ground mastichi *
5 eggs
9-10 cups all-purpose flour
Sesame seeds

• Mix yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar in warm water. Set aside at least 15 minutes to activate yeast.

• Warm milk and add butter, sugar, mahlepi and mastichi.

• Beat 4 eggs, in large bowl, until foamy and combine all liquid ingredients.

• Add enough flour to make a soft dough. Cover with clean, dry kitchen towel and let rise for 2 hours away from draft. After rising, punch down and shape into loaves or braids.

• (Optional) Insert one hard-boiled dyed red egg into center of braid.

• Cover and let formed dough rise again for 1 to 2 hours.

• Brush loaves with one beaten egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

• Bake at 325° for 35 to 40 minutes until golden brown.

Yields 2 to 3 loaves.

* These spices can be purchased online through Greek specialty shops such as Greekshops.com.