{"id":17311,"date":"2022-04-19T07:41:31","date_gmt":"2022-04-19T11:41:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/?p=17311"},"modified":"2022-04-19T07:41:31","modified_gmt":"2022-04-19T11:41:31","slug":"la-colomba-di-pasqua-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/?p=17311","title":{"rendered":"La Colomba di Pasqua"},"content":{"rendered":"

(Click on any image to view it in high resolution.)<\/em>
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\nTwo notable celebrations of the season, Easter and Passover, are thisclose to being concurrent this year. It\u2019s no coincidence that the Italian word for Easter (pasqua) and the Hebrew word for Passover (pesach) are closely related, although culinarily the holidays couldn\u2019t be more disparate. During this time of year, Jewish families are expunging their homes of even the most minuscule crumb of anything leavened, and Italians are baking Easter breads like they\u2019re going out of style.<\/p>\n

Italy\u2019s traditional seasonal bread is La Colomba di Pasqua (\u201cThe Easter Dove\u201d), and it is essentially Lombardy\u2019s Eastertime answer to Milan\u2019s Christmastime panettone. These deliciously sweet, cakey breads, in some ways Italy\u2019s gift to coffeecake but so much better, are fundamentally the same except for two significant distinctions: the colomba is baked in the shape of the iconic dove that symbolizes both the resurrection and peace, and the recipes diverge with the colomba\u2019s dense topping of almonds and crunchy pearl sugar glaze. Traditionally, a colomba lacks raisins, favoring only candied orange or citron peel, but as with panettone, fanciful flavors (including some with raisins) proliferate.<\/p>\n

The first photo shows a colomba in all its avian splendor. Frankly, I think it\u2019s a leap of faith to discern a dove in there, but if you can detect one, you may have just performed your own miracle.<\/p>\n

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\nHard pressed to see the dove? Fret not, for this photo has the cake turned upside down so the columbine form is somewhat more evident.<\/p>\n

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\nThe third photo depicts a version that features bits of chocolate and dried peaches within and crunchy crushed amaretto cookies atop.<\/p>\n

Just wondering: There\u2019s no debate that American kids bite the ears off their chocolate Easter bunnies first. Do you suppose that Italian children start with the head, tail, or wings of the colomba?
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