What would Jesus eat? we asked as we thought about a special Easter dinner this year. Well, obviously lamb, yogurt, onions, rice pilaff, pine nuts, something with lemons and olive oil.
Garlic, absolutely garlic. Lamb grilled over wood found in the desert, like mesquite.
With Middle-Eastern spices and ingredients in mind, we pulled together a truly delicious dinner of elements, that with a few exceptions — tomatoes, asparagus and red bell peppers on our skewers, and a Meyer lemon pie with crème fraiche – might have easily been found in the markets of Nazareth.
Okay, so the apostles didn’t have Peeps. But had they, they surely would have enjoyed them. Our pink peeps this year were genuine añejo – aged for over one year in a top cupboard of my kitchen. Just dessicated enough to give a unique depth to each bite.
Our wine? Syrah, of course. A wine of biblical proportions, only ours was made by J.P. Pawloski 
from Steve Gliessman‘s grapes grown in Santa Barbara County. Condor’s Hope is the label, and you can find it on-line. Big enough to stand up to the grilled lamb, which I had marinated overnight in olive oil, garlic, cumin, coriander, pepper, dried cilantro, ginger and cinnamon – this wine was local – which is what Jesus would have drunk. Local red wine.
The pilaff was studded with raisins and pine nuts, and a cucumber, mint and yogurt salad accompanied the grilled lamb. The results were so good we took a vow to do a repeat “new testament” dinner next Easter. Shalom.
