Just in time for the penitential
season of Lent, this beautifully written and illustrated guide features 75
delectable international recipes. Ranging from breakfast dishes, soups and
salads, to main dishes, breads and desserts, they honor distinctive Catholic
Lenten traditions.
Eggplant salad, snow pea curry
with prawns, spelt-nut bread and ginger broth with noodles are among many
recipes that don’t contain meat, eggs, milk products or alcohol. All of
the book’s recipes are newly developed by David Geisser, an award-winning
chef and former Pontifical Swiss Guard who has written several cookbooks
including “The Vatican Cookbook.” Here he includes many meatless dishes, such
as cottage cheese frittata with cucumber and radish dip and lentil and eggplant
moussaka. There is even a list of substitutions for those who wish.
But this is much more than a
cookbook. Along with five variations for the hot cross bun recipe, we learn
that they are traditionally eaten on Good Friday: “The cross etched on the top
of the buns symbolically ties it to Christ’s crucifixion, while the raisins
often used in the recipe symbolize the spices used in the embalming of Christ’s
body for burial.”
This is but a small sample of the
engaging essays contributed by Scott Hahn, a well-known biblical scholar who
has written or edited more than 40 books. Here he covers the history of fasting
and its place in modern practice.
“Fasting wasn’t invented by
Christians ... but is a universal human practice that the Lord and his Church
have sanctified.” And, Hahn writes, “Fasting does improve our relationship with
the divine, but it’s the loving, triune God of the Bible, not the cranky,
man-made gods of ancient times, or even the gods of fitness, to whom we must
dedicate our sacrifices.”
Today while the tradition of
liturgical fasting has faded in many regions, in some locales it still has a
powerful cultural impact. Indeed, “in parts of the country with significant
Catholic heritage, major fast-food chains promote fish sandwiches
during Lent,” Hahn observes. “This is a vestige of a real, living Catholic
culture, one that transforms spiritual truths into embodied realities.”
Both a cookbook and a guide to
Lenten history and practices, this well-designed and
edited book encourages personal spiritual growth through the
rediscovery of Lent. Occasional Scripture verses and quotes from the
saints enrich it, along with inspiring reproductions of classic paintings such
as Millet’s “The Angelus” and Raphael’s “Disputation of the Sacrament.” Any
Catholic will find much of interest here.
Roberts is a journalism
professor at the State University of New York at Albany who has
written/co-edited two books about Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker.