Polish Easter Egg Workshop Wednesday 16 April and the recipe of the day: Gluten free and vegan vermicelli with baby corn and Chinese mushrooms

Preserving and celebrating our traditions is at the heart of Slow Food.

 Celebrate a Polish Tradition and Create Beautiful Eggs for Easter

An Invitation from Regina

The Polish tradition is that after fasting for Lent for 40 days a family makes a basket of food to be blessed at Holy Saturday’s Mass.  There is a quiet element of competitiveness with the baskets with most parishioner’s, especially the women, checking out the baskets to judge who they believe has the best one.

The contents of the Easter basket are eaten by the family on Sunday morning, so everything one consumes for breakfast needs to be in the basket, this includes: decorated Pisanki (eggs), kielbasa (Polish sausage), a butter lamb, salt, a babka (pound cake from a moulded tin) or a sweet yeast cake.  A Pussy Willow branch or toy chick is also in a lot of baskets as this is one of the first trees to show signs of the impending and long awaiting Spring and both are a sign of new life.

Every year our family has made an Easter basket with many friends joining us for the decorating of the Pisanki.

We extend a warm welcome to all to join us this Easter!

The Details

Where: Oratia - address available on registration

When: Wednesday April 16th 7pm to 9pm

Cost: $5 Members $15 Guests

RSVP: Anutosh 8349909

RSVP: Slowfoodwaitakere@gmail.com

And now for the recipe of the day:

Gluten free and vegan vermicelli with baby corn and Chinese mushrooms

This is a cold dish, incredibly filling. 

Ingredients

1 handful mixed Chinese dried mushrooms

1 pack vermicelli 

A few drops sesame oil

1 can baby corn, drained

1 small carrot, grated

1 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped

Juice from half a lime or lemon

1 fresh chili finely chopped (optional)

2 or 3 tbsp soy or Tamari sauce (Tamari sauce if you are gluten free)

Vietnamese mint fo decorate

Soak and then simmer the mushrooms until they are soft, then drain and cut into small strips. Cook the vermicelli in boiling water (or use the mushrooms' stock) for two minutes, then drain and rinse under cold water, place in a mixing/serving bowl and add the sesame oil. Mix well. Add all other ingredients and mix well. Serve at room temperature, or cold if it a really hot day.

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©