Pascualina is a savory pie from Uruguay prepared with spinach and eggs. “Pascua” translates as Easter, thus this pie is usually eaten during the holy week or “semana santa”. As many Uruguayans have Italian ancestry, many Italian dishes were adapted to what was available in Uruguay. In Italy pascualina is normally prepared with ricotta and Parmesan cheese, however, Uruguayans like to infuse flavor with bacon and additional veggies such as bell peppers. Other dishes include milanesa, cutlets, which already tell you the origin. Another is the quince tart named pasta frola, which is very popular in Uruguay.
Is it OK to say “Happy Easter”? I do believe so. To be “happy” also means to be relaxed and baking definitely relaxes me. Baking is my way of dealing with the crisis, it is a wonderful method to beat depression and sadness. Yes, I also know people who got fired or are now working part-time. But regardless, I do see Easter as the feast of hope despite all the horrible things currently happening. And for that reason I decided to make macarons according to the Italian method. I already have a few macarons recipes on my blog, my very first try, strawberry macarons with no food coloring as well as coffee macarons with dulce de leche filling. But all of the listed recipes follow the French method. This is the very first recipe according to the Italian method. I will explain below what this entails.