A GREEK ORTHODOX EASTER

When Vasily (Bill) Christopoulos talks about Easter, his face lights up with the excitement and joy that characterizes Anastasi, the Greek Orthodox celebration of Christ's resurrection, which begins at midnight Saturday.

Food is as much a part of Greek Easter as the many traditions and ceremonies that take place during Holy Week. For Christopoulos, a member of St. Barbara Greek Orthodox Church, the highlight is the Holy Saturday service. After a two-hour service, which begins at midnight, parishioners celebrate by breaking their Lenten fast with a meal served at the church.

"For 40 days before Easter, these are the things we can eat," Christopoulos said, holding a short list of foods, including collard greens, endive, dandelions and broccoli. "We can eat fish, but not meats, not sweets, not cheese."

The Anastasi breakfast includes red Easter eggs, special bread, a soup made with lamb called Mageritsa, salad, cheese, olives, fruit and butter cookies called koulourakia.

"And, of course, wine," Christopoulos said.

After the service, greetings of "Christos anesti!" (Christ is risen!) are exchanged by family members and friends, with the response, "Alithos anesti" (Truly, he has risen). At breakfast, the message is given and received with each person holding a hard-boiled egg dyed bright red to symbolize Christ's blood shed for mankind's sins. When the eggs are knocked against one another, they crack open in a representation of Christ's tomb opening.

In addition to the red eggs, special Easter bread called Tsoureki, which has red eggs nestled in the dough before baking, is served. Tsoureki is braided with three ropes of dough, symbolizing the Holy Trinity. For Easter Sunday dinner, a different bread called Lambropsomo, also baked with red eggs, is served.

Christopoulos, a cook and owner of Riverside Cafe on Riverside Drive in Palmetto, said roast baby lamb is the traditional Easter Sunday dinner for Greek families.

Cooking Greek Style, a collection of recipes from The Women of the Saint Barbara Philoptochos Society, from St. Barbara Greek Orthodox Church on North Lockwood Ridge Road, has several recipes for roast lamb, including stuffed rack of lamb.

Cookbooks published by Greek Orthodox church groups contain some of the best and most authentic Greek recipes found anywhere. An early Greek cookbook, The Art of Greek Cookery, compiled by the Women of St. Paul's Greek Orthodox Church in Hempstead, Long Island, N.Y., was first published in 1961.

The book, considered a classic, received accolades from New York Times food writer Craig Claiborne. That book is out of print, but copies can often be found in used bookstores and tag sales.

The Manatee County library system also owns several copies.

The Recipe Club of St. Paul's has compiled several other Greek cookbooks, including The Complete Book of Greek Cooking, published by HarperCollins, which includes updated versions of many of the earlier recipes.

"A lot has happened to preparation of food in the 40 years since the first book," said Katherine Boulukos, chairperson of the Recipe Club of St. Paul's. "The first book was pretty heavy handed with the sugar and olive oil. So we corrected, amended, and frankly simplified, a lot of the recipes. And now we have microwaves and food processors to do things we did by hand."

One modified recipe is an updated version of Mageritsa, a soup traditionally made with lamb bones and intestines. The updated version is made with only lamb meat.

"In our last two books, we call it Mock Mageritsa, but it has dill and the avgolemono to make it creamy and unusual," Boulukos said.

Another adapted recipe is Molded Spanakopeta, a version of the popular spinach and cheese dish, often served as an appetizer, which Boulukos plans to serve at Easter Sunday dinner.

Christopoulos, a native of Greece who came to the United States in 1968, and his wife Vaso will have about 25 people at their table. Their children, grandchildren, parents and friends and some employees will have the traditional lamb and other Greek dishes.

Christopoulos is looking forward to Holy Saturday services and breakfast at St. Barbara's.
Because his restaurant will be open Sunday, he will miss Easter morning services. But he'll be home for Easter dinner, and ready to make and receive telephone calls to family members in Chicago and Greece, with the good news, "Christos Anesti!"

Arni Paithakia Gyrista (Crown Rack of Lamb)
Crown of lamb (18 ribs)
2 cloves, minced
1 teaspoon oregano
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup white wine
STUFFING
2 cups cooked rice
1/4 cup pine nuts
2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
3 scallions, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
4 tablespoons butter
Salt and pepper to taste

Saute parsley, scallions and garlic in butter until the onion is tender. Add cooked rice and pine nuts. Stir well. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Rub the lamb well with a mixture of garlic, oregano and olive oil. Cover rib tips with foil. Pour white wine over the lamb and roast in 400 degree oven for 1 1/2 hours. Remove from oven. Fill center of the lamb with stuffing. Return to oven and roast at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

Serves 6 to 8.
Source: Cooking Greek Style, compiled by the Women of the Saint Barbara Philoptochos Society.

Molded Spanakopita
1/2 cup chopped scallions
2 tablespoons butter, plus 2 sticks (1/2 pound) butter, melted, for brushing phyllo
2 pounds fresh spinach, picked over, washed, and drained, or four 10-oz. packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
6 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 pound feta cheese, crumbled
8 oz. cottage cheese
2 tablespoons farina
1/2 cup minced flat-leaf parsley
1/2 cup fresh chopped dill or 1 tablespoon
dried dill
salt and pepper to taste
1 pound phyllo pastry

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Saute scallions in 2 tablespoons butter until tender. Chop spinach and place in a large saucepan. Cover and cook until wilted, about 15 minutes. Drain, pressing out as much liquid as possible. (If frozen spinach is used, thaw and drain thoroughly.) Mix together scallion, eggs, feta, cottage cheese, farina, parsley, dill and spinach. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
Butter a 2-quart decorated ring mold. Unfold phyllo and place under plastic wrap to keep it from drying out. Remove one sheet of pastry at a time, brush with melted butter, and begin lining mold (1 1/2 inches of pastry should hang over outer edge of mold). Continue fitting phyllo sheets into mold, turning it as you go in order to make even layers. (The sheets will overlap in center hole of mold.) Use about 20 sheets of phyllo. Fill mold with spinach mixture. Draw overhanging outer edges of phyllo over filling. Arrange remaining sheets of phyllo, buttered, one at a time, to completely cover filling; cut out and discard the pastry over center hole of mold.
Place mold on a cookie sheet to catch butter drippings. Bake for 1 1/4 hours, or until golden brown and puffed. Let stand in mold 5 to 15 minutes before unmolding onto a warm platter.

Source: The Complete Book of Greek Cooking, compiled by the Recipe Club of the Cathedral of St. Paul's. 

Tsoyreki (Greek Easter Sweet Bread)
1 cup warm milk
2 packages fast-acting yeast
1 1/4 cups tepid water
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 tbsp. raw eggs
2 lbs. unbleached white flour
1 tsp. salt in 1 tsp. water
2 hard boiled eggs, dyed very bright red
1 egg, beaten for a glaze
1/2 tsp. anise extract

Heat the milk and anise extract. Allow mixture to cool until tepid. In electric mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in the water. Add warm milk, oil, sugar and eggs. Measure out 4 cups of the total flour and add to the bowl. Mix for 10 minutes. Stir in the salt and water. The rest of the flour must be added by hand unless you have a powerful mixer. Use a dough hook and blend in the rest of flour. Knead until smooth. Place dough on counter and cover with a large inverted bowl. Allow to rise until double in bulk, punch down and allow to rise again.
Divide dough into two pieces. Cover one half with the bowl and divide the other half into three equal parts. Roll each into a snake about 25 inches long. Lay the pieces side by side and pinch one end together. Braid the three pieces and form into round loaf. Place the hard-boiled Easter eggs in the center of braid and allow the bread to rise until double in bulk. Brush with the beaten egg and bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes, or until golden brown.

Leg of Lamb with peppers is a traditional Greek dish.

Memo:
Going Greek?
Here are a few Greek cookbooks with recipes compiled by Greek Orthodox church groups.
Cooking Greek Style, compiled by the Women of the Saint Barbara Philoptochos Society, 7671 N. Lockwood Ridge Rd., Sarasota, Fla. 34243. 355-2616. Available at the church office for $13, or by mail for $15.50. Credit cards accepted.

The Art of Greek Cookery, compiled by the Women of St. Paul's Greek Orthodox Church, Hempstead, Long Island, N.Y. This book is out of print, but the Manatee County library system owns several copies. Copies are sometimes available at used book shops and tag sales.

The Complete Book of Greek Cooking, compiled by the Recipe Club of Saint Paul's Greek Orthodox Cathedral, published by HarperCollins. This book is widely available at retail bookstores for $20, or from St. Paul's for $21, which includes postage. Write to Cathedral of St. Paul, 110 Cathedral Circle, Hempstead, NY 11550. Proceeds from this book benefit St. Paul's. Cookbook sales over the past 40 years have raised $450,000 for the church.