For most Kiwis, Easter is typically enjoyed gorging on store-bought chocolate Easter eggs and hot cross buns, but in a number of ethnic groups in this country these Easter foods don’t feature in their festivities.The Greek Orthodox community dine out on unique homemade breads and lamb and for Polish people special Easter cakes and soups reign supreme.
In the lead up to Easter families will come together to cook their traditional dishes, steeped in symbolism. For the Poles, cakes in the shape of a lamb hold special significance while the Greek culture will dye eggs blood red.l
Religious rituals remain the most significant aspect of celebrations, but both of these communities admit food comes a close second.
GREEK EASTER
In the Greek Orthodox community Easter is the biggest religious holiday of the year, but this sacred time is also known for bringing out some of the best Greek cooking.
Economous, the vice-president of Wellington’s Greek Orthodox Community, explains Orthodox churches use the Julian calendar, which means their Easter often falls about a week later than Western countries.
This year the Greek Orthodox community in New Zealand will celebrate Easter Sunday on April 8. On this day they’ll feast on large skewers of lamb, cooked over charcoal, as well as many salads, olives, cheeses, breads and dips.
In preparation for the meal her whole family, including her 93-year-old grandmother, will come together to bake. “On the Thursday before Easter, Greek Orthodox ladies will start baking. For families of Cypriot descent, like mine, we’ll make flaounes, a pastry stuffed with cheese, mint and sometimes raisins.
“Grandma still instructs us and tells us how to make the flaounes and the children will get to play with the pastry and sprinkle the sesame seeds.
“The smell of them wafting through the house makes you really just want to crack one open, but of course we can’t because we’re fasting.”
Greek people will make a slightly different bread called tsoureki, which is sweet and buttery and similar to brioche.
“But of course they can’t eat them either, so we’re all hanging out until after midnight mass on Saturday, when families return home to break lent and crack open the flaounes.
“It’s lovely sitting around the table with the people you love, knowing we’re doing what generations before us have done and what the generations ahead will do.”
Thursdays are also spent hard boiling eggs and dying them red to represent the blood of Christ. The eggs are later used to play a game at dinner called tsougrisma. Players tap their eggs together until one cracks. The winner is the person who cracks the greatest number of eggs.
FLAOUNES
Ingredients
Yeast dough
¾ kg plain flour
4 teaspoons dry active yeast
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
water to mix
Cheese filling
250gm cheddar cheese
100gm halloumi
1 tablespoon flour
1 teaspoon dry active yeast
1 tablespoon crushed dried mint
4 eggs lightly beaten
To finish
1 egg, beaten
sesame seeds
Method
For the dough, sift flour into a large bowl. Stir in the yeast, salt, and sugar. Add the oil and enough water to make it firm. Knead for at least five minutes until it has a smooth and elastic feel. Put the dough into a plastic bag and leave in a warm place for an hour to rise. For the filling, coarsely grate the cheeses, add the flour and yeast then gradually stir in the beaten egg and seasonings until you have a stiffish paste (if the mixture becomes runny don’t use all the beaten egg). Leave in a warm place to rise for approximately two hours. Divide the dough into egg sized pieces and roll these into 10cm discs. Place a generous tablespoon of filling into the centre of each pastry disc, spreading it slightly. Pull dough up at four points to make a square. You should still be able to see the filling in the middle. Press corners together to seal and leave to rise. Just before baking, brush with beaten egg and sprinkle some sesame seeds over them. Bake at 230 degrees Celsius for 12 to 15 minutes until cheese filling is puffed and flaounes are golden.