On the savoury side
Silverbeet and ricotta Easter pie (torta pasqualina)
Eggs are included in this Italian classic to symbolise the rebirth of Christ, but they also provide a bit of extra colour and protein. On the pastry-making front, there is some good news: traditionally the pastry was 33 layers of dough to represent the 33 years of Christ, but this has been reduced to a more manageable four.
Silverbeet and ricotta Easter pie (Torta pasqualina). Source: Emiko Davies
Roast lamb with flageolets (gigot d’agneau aux flageolets)
This hearty meal is the taste of Easter in the French countryside: roast lamb and beans, complete with a hefty dose of butter, garlic and cider.
Roast lamb with flageolets (gigot d’agneau aux flageolets).
Cypriot Easter bread (flaounes)
These crisp little cheesy, minty, fruity pastries are a little fiddly to prepare, so recruiting family members to help fold the parcels is the best way to go—plus, it's a fun activity to bring everyone together and keep little ones entertained.
Cypriot Easter bread (flaounes). Source: Food Safari
Beetroot, carrot and potato salad (vinegret)
A colourful salad that combines fresh, pickled, soft and crunchy vegetables in a dressing of mayonnaise, capers and dill—a sharp and refreshing side dish for any Easter feast.
Beetroot, carrot and potato salad (vinegret).
Grilled whole snapper with burghul salad (samak mechoui bi salatat burghul)
Grilling the snapper whole gives it that delicious balance of crispy skin and tender flesh, and marinating it first in a paste of garlic salt, cumin, paprika, vinegar and olive oil, gives it delicious flavour dimensions.
Grilled whole snapper with burghul salad (samak mechoui bi salatat burghul).
Chorizo and egg pie (hornazo)
This dish is made and eaten in Spain on the Monday after Easter. It comes in several versions across the country and often appears in form as well as pie-form.
Chorizo and egg pie (hornazo). Source: Feast magazine
On the sweet side
Patouda (Greek honey and date pastries)
The filling of these pastries is a smorgasbord of festive flavours: walnuts, almonds, sesame seeds, dates, cinnamon, nutmeg and honey.
Patouda (Greek honey and date pastries). Source: Alan Benson
Ensaïmada de Mallorca (Spanish sweet bread)
Traditionally, this buttery, flaky, spiralled beauty is an Easter bread in Mallorca, but it's so good that it's now eaten for breakfast at other times of the year.
Ensaïmada (Spanish sweet bread). Source: Alan Benson
Argentinian Easter bread ring (rosca de Pascua)
This decorative loaf is festive in appearance and meaning: it's topped with a party of vanilla pastry cream, glacé cherries and pearl sugar, and shaped in a ring shape to symbolise eternal life.
Easter bread ring (rosca de Pascua).
Mexican bread pudding (capirotada)
In full celebration mode, this pudding brings together bread, booze, butter, spices and cheese. It's traditionally eaten on Good Friday.
Bread pudding (capirotada). Source: Chris Chen
Romanian sponge cake (cozonac)
More brioche than sponge cake, but let’s not get wrapped up in semantics - this rich dough is filled with is a swirl of toasted walnuts, sugar, cocoa, rum and lemon rind - and that’s all that matters.
Romanian sponge cake (cozonac). Source: Alan Benson
Russian Easter bread (kulich)
Julia Frey's grandma would start the dough the night before, let it rise overnight and wake up well before dawn to make all kinds of goodies – filled pastries, sweet and savoury, cinnamon buns and kulich. "Waking up to the sweet aroma of freshly baked bread is one of my favourite childhood memories. My grandma’s baking was the best – none of my friends’ grandmas came even close. Unfortunately, she never wrote down any recipes. I didn’t think any recipe could top my grandma’s and I almost feel guilty for saying this, but this adapted recipe from , a blog I love, is without a doubt the most luxurious kulich I have ever had. The first loaf was gone within hours… thank goodness the recipe makes three!"
Source: Julia Frey
Hot cross buns
You know Easter is on its way when hot cross buns hit the shops.
Hot cross buns. Source: Derek Swalwell
Chocolate cupcakes with salted caramel frosting
These dainty little sweet-and-salty cakes are a fun option for the chocolate-fest of Easter.
Chocolate cupcakes with salted caramel frosting. Source: Alan Benson
Babka
Babka comes in many forms (which may have learnt from Seinfeld, when Elaine was mortified that the chocolate babka had sold out at her local bakery, and she had to settle for cinnamon), and this Ukrainian version features plump raisins and is scented with citrus.
Babka.
Maltese Easter biscuits (figolli)
Bunny shapes are not a hard-and-fast rule for these marzipan-based biscuits, but they do add an unmistakably “Easter” touch. They're traditionally eaten on Easter Sunday, so could be a cute supplement to chocolate eggs on an Easter egg hunt.
Maltese Easter biscuits (figolli). Source: Feast magazine / Ben Dearnley
