At Easter, love that lamb — don't bleat about the bunny

On Easter Sunday I will eat lamb, organic and bought from Whole Foods, cooked slow and tender by a South African pastor who lives at Point Richmond, California. He will, I am guessing, give a sermon about the sacrificial lamb — and then go cook one. My mother, meanwhile, who lives in South Africa, told me when I called this morning that she would roast a leg of lamb for Easter, spiked with cloves of garlic and sprigs of rosemary. And the San Francisco Chronicle had a food feature this past week with recipes for lamb.

All of this talk of lamb got me thinking about Easter culinary traditions and wondering what you or I would eat if we went traveling this weekend — or if we go international in our restaurant or friend choices, right here at home.

Hot Cross Buns

What I remember about Easter, growing up in South Africa, was eating chocolate eggs with abandon and feeling ill; my Polish father making a vegetable-dyed rainbow of real eggs, which I would go to any lengths not to eat. And I remember hot cross buns, which was a British tradition, South Africa having been a British colony. But I don’t remember having lamb at Easter.

Fish is apparently a French Easter tradition. Chickens and rabbits are popular in some countries. But for the most part, “It’s all about the lamb of God,” as a man from the Congo told me yesterday when we got into conversation at the Alameda library. I had never before thought of that as a mouth-watering image. But he was right.

Eating lamb is symbolic. It’s ritual food.

It derives from Jewish tradition — the sacrifice of a lamb for Passover. And much of the Western World (and beyond) will be eating lamb this weekend.

In Christian tradition, the lamb is sometimes seen as a lucky omen, the superstition being that the devil can transform into other animals but not the lamb. If he’s adhering to customs of old, Pope Benedict, in Rome, will be eating his Easter lamb roasted; the feast after the fast of Lent, for those who do it, playing no small part in the importance of having a main Easter meal.

Twelve Lambs-a-Roasting

But for the most part, the religious connotations get lost. A story on this Kitchen Projects site says that in Greece, Easter is the biggest holiday, and the popular pursuit of the day is roasting a whole lamb on a “souvla” or large spit — hand-turned by your friends. Closer to home, check this must-see Time Out picture of 12 lambs basted with olive oil and roasting on spits outside a New York Greek eatery. It will make you hungry — or gross you out.

If you haven’t yet planned your lamb and want a recipe, check out Salon.com's Rack of Lamb, Just in Time for Easter. If you want to braise your shanks Moroccan-style, this recipe from Toronto, Canada, comes with the title “serving lamb at Easter is a centuries-old tradition.”

Colored eggs are popular throughout Europe, with the Syrians, Greeks, Germans, French, Austrians, Poles and Ukrainians being just a few of the countries that dye or decorate real chicken eggs.

I’m not going to do dyed eggs. I hope nobody gives me anonymous chocolate ones. I do hope the lamb on your plate will be tender.

Meanwhile I’m wondering: If I seriously thank that lamb for having made the ultimate sacrifice for my Easter pleasure, will I be able to relish what's put on my plate? All this talk of lamb and it’s developed a personality.

What are you eating for Easter? Did your family have any special traditions?