Greek Easter this year was one week after "regular Easter".  David Sedaris claims that us Greeks have Easter later so we can buy cheaper Easter candy.   I don't agree.  Easter candy is not part of Greek Easter.

It's not about story book bunnies like these, 

 or these....!

It is all about the lamb.  

People think of Greek food and lamb as being the same.  Lamb is really and truly enjoyed in the spring.  When the lamb is young and when lent is finished.   

Easter Sunday is lamb on a spit.   People in large cities cannot do it, so they discover their country cousins.  Greek immigrants will always try to recreate the Greek Easter tradition of the roasted lamb.  When we first came to America, we did it in a park since we lived in an apartment. It was  1966, not much ethnic stuff in public back then.  A crowd gathered and little children were chanting "they are killing an animal".  Needles to say, the taunting did not keep us from roasting lambs, we just found ways to do it in private.  

My brother Alex, who moved to New York, always did it and we were all shy of doing the lamb without him.  But, thanks to the internet, my other brother Anastassi, ( his name means resurrection, so it's his name day) a Sonoma rancher and a German mechanical husband, we had a roasted lamb.  

I nicknamed this Easter after two movies: "Silence of the Lambs" or "There Will Be Olive Oil", I used six quarts  of olive oil.  No olive, no Greek Easter.  Do you see any chocolate or bunnies?  NO.

Pictures of the mezes later: Spanakopites, tiropites, houmous, babaganoush, Egyptian eggplants and peppers, prawns with tomatoe sauce and feta (saganaki), tzatziki, taramosalata, beets, dandelion greens, Greek salad and dolmas.  I was so busy, I did not take many pictures. 

Buying the Lamb 

I found Bruce Campbell, a Healdsburg Sheep rancher via the internet.  All organic and local sheep.  On Friday, we went to his ranch to pick up the lamb.  We arrived early and could not find him.  We saw a man working in a garden and thought it was him, but it was his father, who then called Bruce to tell him, we had arrived.

 It was 9:30 in the morning and he was showing us his garden. Onions, garlic and ten acres of grapes.  He then got a glimmer in his eyes and said:  "You have to taste our wine, follow me".  

We followed into his house, out he comes with a bottle of Pinot Noir, CK ranch Pinot Noir.  Three glasses and what a way to start the day.  This is Sonoma, we have arrived.  We are now in the country, California's wine country:  Sonoma.   Napa gets all the publicity, but Sonoma is the mother lode of real California landscape, loads of wine, lots of farming and incredible weather.  

Bruce arrived, we said our goodbyes to his dad, a second generation Sonoman and we went to Bruce's house.  We loaded the lamb, he told us how to put it on the spit gave us some hints.  

We asked to buy some bottles of their wine.  He leads us to his labyrnth of a house inot his basement and we buy six bottles of a delicious Pinot Noir, but he just keeps giving us all these other bottles of wines.   Try this, and try that one, my friend makes this one.  We left with four extra bottles of wine and a bag of oranges and grapefruits.

Finally, the best surprise, he give us a bottle of his olive oil.  I did not use this olive oil for cooking, this will be used on my tomatoes this summer.  So, OS friends, if you are around these parts around tomatoe harvest, knock on my door for a sample.  

This bottle is the perfect symbol of the cultures of America and the Mediterranean mixing, Olive Oil in a Jim Bean bottle, what can I say.  I will treasure this pure gold olive oil.  It's a long way from the park in 1966 to this bottle of olive oil from a Sonoma sheep rancher.  

This is local food. 

Preparation of the Lamb 

We kept the lamb in the workshop, with ice and air conditioning since the temperatures peaked into the 80's.  On Sunday morning, the lamb was prepared and put on the spit at around 9:40, it was ready at 3:30.  I will not say that I wanted the precise German to start it earlier, but it all worked out.  

The lamb 45 pounds. 

The fire, charcoal.  

Salt, lemon, Greek oregano and olive oil for basting.  

 Sorry kids for the explicit photographs, but meat does come in this form.  

 The video of taking the lamb off the spit.

 

 

 

 

 

I promised Ricky B  in Israel, pictures of the lamb roasting.  Here they are, with extra attraction of You Tube and the elegant Ms. Joan Walsh.