In the Polish culture, there's definitely a lot of prep when it comes to Easter. Easter Sunday breakfast is a very special tie spent with family (not to forget about all the days leading up to it: Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday. All this whole week has many traditions come along with it, a main tradition is all the different types of food we prep.
One food tradition that comes to mind is making a special vegetable salad to be enjoy Easter Sunday after having fasted for the last few days. Now, I've never personally made it myself; however, growing up I was always given the task to help peel and dice up all of the vegetables. And, of course, was needed as a taste tester to toss in a quick "think it needs a little more pepper" so I can feel like I contributed to the special taste of the dish ;)
Given that this salatka is such a staple to the Easter Sunday breakfast, I wanted to share my two theories as to why that may be!
First theory is the obvious-- the recipe has lots of eggs in it! Pretty simple theory. Now my second one is a little more intuitive, if you will...
In Polish culture, the "real deal"
church goers attend the 6 am mass on Easter Sunday. It is know as the "Ressurection Mass" (or Zmartwychwstanie). Trust me, it is rrrrrough getting out of bed, and not to mention the part where the whole ceremony goes outside in a procession singing as one as they circle the outside of the church. April weather isn't always the most welcoming! However, with all that set aside, the mass ceremony is so beautiful and meaningful that it really opens your eyes to the amazing unity that's created through our faith.
Now, coming back to the salatka jarzynowa...after spending basically all morning at mass and getting home closer to 9 am, absolutely no one is interested in cooking up a meal but are rather in favor of having all the food ready to go! Pretty much everything that is eaten for Easter breakfast is served cold, and thoroughly enjoy!
Watch the video above to see how I make the delicious & traditional "Salatka Jarzynowa" for my family Easter.
Recipe credit: www.kwestiasmaku.com