Magiritsa

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Magiritsa is a traditional Greek soup made from lamb's innards, associated with the Easter tradition of the Greek Orthodox Church. Accordingly, it is sometimes called "Easter soup", "Easter Sunday soup", or "Easter lamb soup". In some parts of Greece, most notably Thessaly, it is not served as soup but rather as a fricassee (a white stew), where it contains only the offals and a large variety of vegetables, but no onions or rice as the soup.

[edit] Traditional use

Magiritsa is eaten to break the 40-day fast undertaken by Greek Orthodox followers during Lent. Its role and ingredients result from its association with the roasted lamb traditionally served at Easter dinner; in its traditional form, magiritsa simply consists of all the offal removed from the lamb for roasting, subsequently flavored with the seasonings and sauces discussed below. Prepared by Greek housewives on Holy Saturday in tandem with the next day's lamb, magiritsa is consumed immediately upon the conclusion of the Easter midnight mass. The dish is particularly thick and filling, making it a satisfying meal by which the fast may be broken.

[edit] Ingredients and preparation

While traditional magiritsa includes all the lamb offal available, it is the head and neck of the lamb which provide most of the soup's flavor, and those along with the intestines and liver which are most commonly selected for use today.

After a thorough cleaning, the lamb materials are boiled whole in water for between thirty minutes and two hours, then cut up into smaller pieces, flavored with onions, dill, butter and sometimes vegetables, and then left to simmer. Rice is added towards the end of the boiling process, and the stock is thickened with avgolemono.

When consumed on Easter morning, magiritsa is generally accompanied by salad and cheese, tsoureki sweet bread, and hard-boiled eggs dyed red as a symbol of the risen Christ's blood.