Easter And Passover Near, And That Means...

Lamb in Italy: Unless you happen to celebrate the holidays with vegetarians, it's the one thing you can be almost certain to find on the table come Easter Sunday or Pesah, also known as La Pasqua Ebraica. Cooked in a great many ways, from fried lamb chops through lamb done over the coals. You'll find notes on buying lamb and kid, and many recipes, on the Lamb & Kid page. And here are a couple of more recipes that recently caught my eye:

• Agnello alla Giudaica
  Lamb is intimately associated with Passover: Moses ordered his people to kill white lambs, paint the doorways with their blood, and roast them and eat them with pane azzimo, unleavened bread, on the 14th day of the first month of Spring. Hence, I might add, the Italian tradition of lamb at Easter, and this stewed lamb with artichokes is a Roman Jewish recipe.
• Cosciotto D'Agnello alla Cacciatora
  A dish that is alla cacciatora is generally cooked with herbs and vinegar (chicken cacciatore, with its tomato, is an exception). In this Umbrian recipe, rather than vinegar, we have white wine.

While we're on the subject of Passover, Stuart Borken is an old friend and superb cook, who has very kindly shared many recipes with us over the years, including some stunning Passover Desserts. All of his recipes are collected here, and though some won't work for the Holiday, the Desserts most certainly will. And could become general favorites too.

Buona Pasqua! Felice Pesah!