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Paskha

Russian Easter feast is paskha made of curds and shaped as a truncated pyramid, which symbolizes the Holy Sepulchre. A special sectional wooden mould was traditionally used for cooking this rich festive dish. Don’t get upset if you have no such a mold – just use whatever mold you can get or an ordinary colander. Paskha must be made of curds of the highest quality; home-made curd is best of all. It is rather an expensive and time-taking dish, yet in the face of the great holiday of Pascha a housewife would cope with any difficulties. Modern cooks might as well use a mixer to whisk curd thoroughly to make it airy and delicate in a simpler way.

Unboiled Paskha

Ingredients: 2,5 kg curd, 200g butter, 200-300 g granulated sugar, 250 g sour cream, salt to taste, candied fruit, raisins and nuts (optional).

Instructions: Thoroughly rub curd through a sieve twice. Mash butter with sugar till the mass is white; add sour cream to it and go on mashing it till the granules of sugar completely disappear. Mix the creamy stuff with curd, add salt, candied fruit, nuts and raisins if you have decided to use them. Fill a mould with the paste, put it under a small press and leave in a fridge for 12 hours.

We still have my grandmother's (Mimi) recipe in her handwriting. This is part of the recipe for the dough.

The tradition of making calzone at Easter time was handed down by my paternal grandmother and my mother, my sister and I keep it going every year. A calzone resembles a stuffed pizza or a big pie but it tastes so much better!