There Easter in Abruzzo it is a very serious thing, perhaps even more than Christmas. The rule is that the table should be set and prepared from early morning. Easter breakfast is not a breakfast like many others, but it's called sdiuno and it is a complete meal in every respect.
We then get to the table already around 10 and the highlight is the Easter Pizza: it is not a sweet, nor a savory one and from the appearance it could seem a cross between a gastronomic panettone and a classic panettone, but neither of the two things.
It is a dough not too soft and not too faded, flavored with anise and enriched with raisins. In addition they also add candied fruit and chocolate, but I like the simple and more traditional version. Very often the recipe from the Marche is also proposed, which is however salty and made with cheese and is accompanied with salami and cheese.
Then there are never the Mazzarelle, which are rolls of lamb steaks wrapped in endive leaves tied with small lamb bowels. The Mazzarelle or love them or hate them, as always happens when it comes to entrails. I'm crazy about it, especially if cooked in a pan with tomato sauce.
Then there are the eggs, both hard and chocolate, and woe to those who open them before Easter. Egg breakers are children, of course, happy because of the surprise, but above all because at Easter you can eat more chocolate than usual without anyone saying anything!

After that sdiuno we go to lunch. The Easter table is not that of Christmas. No fairy lights, candles, decorations, embroidered tablecloths and porcelain dishes. Everything is simpler and more informal. That's why after it sdiuno you can stay directly at the table and continue with lunch, or you can get up, clear the table and reappear for the other guests who will come.
Yes, without a doubt Easter in Abruzzo is a feast for professional eaters.
It is difficult to get hungry after lunch, but this is the rule. Do not forget either that the next day, at Easter, you have to finish the leftovers and then you leave for an off-piste trip not with a simple ham sandwich, but with hard-boiled eggs and Mazzarelle for everyone!

Are you curious to know what will be on my Easter table?

Like every year there will be no timbale is the lamb and other traditional dishes and then the fried ones, a little from Abruzzo and a bit from the Marche.
To conclude, I will be as always the sweet man and my warhorses have been there for years dove filled with ice cream and theEaster egg stuffed with tiramisu. In any case, chocolate should never be missing.
Happy Easter to all of you!