• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Recipe Index
  • About Le Chef’s Wife
  • Contact

Le Chef's Wife logo

  • Start Here
  • French Cooking
  • Riviera Recipes
  • Baking
  • Family Meals
  • Entertaining

April 8, 2020

French Easter Traditions

By the time this Easter rolls around, I will have spent four weeks in isolation with my two and a half year old daughter. I think it will be high time to change out of my yoga pants, put on some makeup and set a lovely spring table for a beautiful meal.

The most important meal of the weekend is undoubtedly Easter Sunday Lunch. Families get together to share wine, stories and a table of fresh spring foods. Le Chef and I spent many Easters in Toulon around Mamie’s table. I hold such fond memories of these times and can remember each delicious menu item that made the memories so special.

Toulon
Toulon

A sample Menu from lunch at Mamie Pierrette Giannini’s:

Apéro:

Orange wine served with Fougasse (a flat French bread made with olive oil and flavored with herbs such as rosemary…trop bon!) and perhaps a few slices of quiche or tourte aux blettes (a tart made with swiss chard and pine nuts) still warm from the oven.

If we were really lucky – Mamie will have made Zucchini fritters (beignets de courgettes).

Main Course:

Le Gigot d’agneau, leg of lamb, roasted in the oven with little baby potatoes flavored with garlic, rosemary and thyme. Mamie’s trick for cooking the Gigot and still have time to go to church, is to cook « le gigot de 7 heures » Literally, cooked for 7 hours at a lower temperature, it can cook overnight.

Young spring asparagus, slightly crunchy, served with a Champagne Citrus Vinaigrette or else a Sabayon. (See Le Chef’s recipe for our favorite vinaigrette featured in Edible DC)

https://www.instagram.com/p/B-fsnCohGWU/
Le Chef’s Recipe for Asparagus with a Champagne Citrus Vinaigrette

Salade à l’ail. Crunchy leaves of fresh spring greens, tossed in an olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette with chopped garlic.

Cheese course:

Fresh goat cheese
Fresh goat cheese

Fromage de Chevre frais au miel, (fresh goat cheese with honey) and fresh herbed cheese.

Dessert

Brioche a l’écorce d’orange et fleur d’oranger (A beautiful brioche bread shaped like a wreath and flavored with orange blossom and orange zest).

Oeuf de Pâques avec fritures (small eggs filled with hazelnut cream and pralines inside of a large Chocolate egg, made by the local patisserie). ** For those living in the USA and Canada, Ladurée makes a great selection of Easter Pastries that can be delivered to your door in time for Easter**

Ladurée Easter Egg
Ladurée Easter Egg

Un bon café followed by a long walk in the sun.

I will be following most of these traditions with my family this Easter Sunday in Mclean, Virginia. While we have never felt so distanced from our families abroad, it is the traditions and memories that will make them feel closer.

What will you be doing to celebrate this Easter, mes amis?

Please share with me how you are going to make this holiday feel special.

Au plaisir,

Le Chef’s Wife

Pages: Page 1 Page 2

Filed Under: Dining, Entertaining, Family, Travel, Uncategorized Tagged With: Chef life, cooking at home, Easter menu, Easter traditions, french Easter, French lifestyle, Pâques

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Le Chef's Wife

Bonjour! My name is Anina Belle. I am a Canadian/American working mom who went on a study exchange to the South of France in my early twenties and fell in love with a French Chef. We were married in Nice and now live in Washington, DC with our toddler daughter with another baby on the way! Our time in France gave me a deep appreciation for French food and the French joie de vivre. Read More

Follow Me On

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
https://lechefswife.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/02-La-madrague.m4a

Footer

My Favorites

Lemon Cranberry Cake
Drive by baby shower

Search

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

lechefswife

lechefswife
Precious family moments 🥰 Life feels so full no Precious family moments 🥰 Life feels so full now, and sometimes overwhelming, but I know we will look back at these times and say, “those were the good days”. #familylife #preciousmoments #momlife #familylove #grateful #cheflife
No need to ski to celebrate “Après-Ski”. 🎿 No need to ski to celebrate “Après-Ski”. 🎿 We have been making the most of our own backyard and bringing a feel of the French Alps to the North East. My guide to hosting a backyard Après-Ski is up on the blog, link in bio. Save this post for the next time you want to have friends over this winter🍷  #apresski #outdoordining #socialdistancing #winterfun
Feeling SO MUCH LOVE on my birthday! Thank you for Feeling SO MUCH LOVE on my birthday! Thank you for all the messages, calls, DMs and facetimes. My 39th year is off to a great start ❤️ ❤️❤️#happybirthdaytome #birthdaygirl
A little sunshine on this Monday-est of Mondays... A little sunshine on this Monday-est of Mondays...we got this, mes amis.  What are you looking forward to today? 🌻 #positivevibes #mondaymotivation #positivity #hello2021
She doesn’t even want to wait for them to cool.. She doesn’t even want to wait for them to cool... 🥖 ❤️ Baguette recipe link is in bio. #breadmaking #breadbaking #breadbakingforbeginners #frenchbaguette
Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2021 Le Chef's Wife on the Brunch Pro Theme