Festival foods

Easter is the most important festival of the year in Greece, with music and communal feasting of whole lambs. If they've been roasted in the baker's oven, they will have been carried there in their giuvetsis - circular metal pans, lying on a bed of potatoes with copious cloves of garlic tossed in and several juicy lemons squeezed over all. If they're turned on spits, they will be rubbed with herbs and basted regularly with their own juices - or slugs of ouzo by happy revellers! Lamb cooked this way is delicious dipped into Tzadziki.

The Greek Corner Market will sell whole roasted lamb to order, as well as traditional Easter cakes like koulourakia, tsourekia and kourabiedes and dyes for boiled Easter eggs. 2460 Ennalls Ave, Wheaton, 301 929 8502.

Shemali's will prepare whole baby lamb or legs of lamb stuffed with spiced rice, onions, almonds and pine nuts at 48 hours' notice. (Until it moves into the corner store opposite Giant on Wisconsin Ave - currently their Pharmacy - you'll find Shemali's in the Foxhall building on New Mexico Avenue NW, though without its snack bar until the big move. Their catering service is still available. Call them on 202 686 7070 for details.)  

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