Traditional foods for 3 celebrations: Mardi Gras, Lent, Purim – Chef Walter Potenza

Festivals, fasting, and feasting: the rituals and traditions of the three major celebrations – Mardi Gras, Lent & Purim – explained with a great hamantaschen recipe to try.

by Chef Walter Potenza, contributing writer – Photo: King Cake by Manny Randazzo in New Orleans.

Mardi Gras, Lent, and Purim are three beautiful cultural and religious celebrations that, while originating from different traditions, connect with us on a deeper level through their themes of joy, reflection, and delicious food. Each of these observances carries its unique history and symbolism, and they offer wonderfully diverse culinary traditions.

Together, they design and create a rich tapestry of flavors and meanings, reminding us of the values and beliefs that unite the communities that celebrate them.

Mardi Gras: A Feast Before the Fast (March 4, 2025)

Mardi Gras, meaning “Fat Tuesday” in French, is the climax of Carnival season. It is celebrated most typically among Catholic populations worldwide, with one of the best-known hubs in New Orleans. The feast falls on the Tuesday preceding Ash Wednesday, the initial opening day of Lent.

Traditionally, Mardi Gras was when one would overindulge in rich, fatty foods before the 40-day season of fasting and abstinence that characterizes Lent. The Mardi Gras cuisine is directly linked to this idea of excess and indulgence.

New Orleans’ Mardi Gras is synonymous with foods like gumbo, jambalaya, and king cake. Gumbo, a hearty stew with a roux base, seafood, sausage, and vegetables, symbolizes the city’s cultural melting pot because it has French, African, and Creole influences. Jambalaya, a rice dish cooked with meat, vegetables, and spices, is also symbolic of the blending of flavors characteristic of Creole cooking.

The king cake, a sweet, braided bread topped with the traditional Mardi Gras colors of purple, green, and gold, is perhaps the most iconic treat of the season. A tiny plastic baby, symbolizing the Christ child, is placed inside the cake, and the person who finds it is supposed to have good luck and the responsibility of hosting the next king cake party.

A few years ago, while working at a trade show, I had a chance to visit the Randazzo Bakery in New Orleans and sample their specialties. If you travel there, visit them—another Italian immigrant success story since 1965.

3515 N. Hullen Street Metairie, LA 70002. T. 5044561476

Jambalaya – Chef Isaac Toups / Recipe

Mardi Gras excess isn’t only about food, either. It’s also about carnival and fellowship. It’s time to get together, sit down to eat a meal or two, and appreciate the wonders of life before it’s time to enter the somberness of Lent.

The Founding French Fathers

Louisiana was claimed for France in 1682, and two brothers of the surname Le Moyne, formally known as Sieur d’Iberville and Sieur de Bienville founded New Orleans 17 years later. La Nouvelle Orléans was named in honor of the Duke of Orleans, France’s ruling regent, until the young Louis XV could take the throne. Still, the French name was also chosen to encourage French settlers who would have balked at coming to a place with an Indian name like Biloxi or Natchitoches. Two French engineers laid out the first 66 squares of a walled village, later known as the French Quarter or the Vieux Carré (Old City). Streets were named after lesser royalty in the Duke’s court. Indian hunters, German farmers, and trappers traded their goods in a clearing where the French Market stands today. {T}

Lent: A Season of Abstinence and Simplicity (March 5 – April 17, 2025)

Lent, currently celebrated by Christians around the globe, is 40 days of fasting, praying, and penance before Easter. It commemorates the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the wilderness and is also a period to examine one’s spiritual life and practice self-discipline. The Lenten food culture is one of restraint and simplicity, particularly avoiding meat as an act of self-denial and piety.

Fridays during Lent are abstinence days from meat in most traditions; thus, numerous individuals come up with various foods without meat. Seafood, mainly fish, takes the spotlight. Fish tacos, shrimp pasta, and clam chowder are the king in most households. Legumes, grains, and vegetables such as lentil soup, bean stews, and roasted vegetables take over the Mediterranean cultures’ meals. They sustain the body and address the character of simplicity and self-denial that defines Lent.

Aside from a meatless diet, some also forgo certain luxuries or pleasures like sweets, alcohol, or rich foods during Lent. This time of self-denial is meant to make individuals feel more grateful for their food and religious reliance on it. Nevertheless, the end of Lent is marked by Easter, a celebration of joy and a return to feasting and indulgence with roasted lamb, ham, and an assortment of desserts.

Purim: A Joyous feast of deliverance (March 13 – 14, 2025)

Purim is a vibrant Jewish holiday in late winter or early spring. It celebrates the story from the Book of Esther, highlighting how the Jewish people were rescued from a grave threat. Unlike Lent, which is more about introspection, Purim focuses on joy and celebration. During this holiday, people come together to enjoy hearty meals, share laughter, and extend help to those in need. The traditional foods served during Purim add to the festive atmosphere and emphasize the importance of joy, community, and the stories that connect us all.

Perhaps the best-known Purim food is the hamantaschen, a triangular-shaped pastry filled with sweet ingredients like poppy seeds, fruit preserves, or chocolate. The tri-cornered form of the pastry is supposed to represent the Purim villain’s hat, Haman, and consuming them as a symbolic means of “beating” him. Hamantaschen is usually baked at home and shared with friends, family, and neighbors to show the holiday’s sense of community and generosity.

In addition to hamantaschen, Purim meals often include a variety of dishes based on the diversity of Jewish cooking. Sephardic Jews may bring forth dishes such as bourekas (cheese or vegetable-filled pastries, savory) or tagine (slow-cooked stew), but Ashkenazi Jews may dish up kreplach (meat-filled dumplings) or gefilte fish. Alcohol and wine, too, figure prominently in the celebration, given that the Book of Esther identifies feasting and drinking as features of the story of Purim.

Here’s a classic Hamantaschen recipe with a buttery, slightly citrusy dough, and various delicious fillings. It’s perfect for Purim or any time you want a sweet treat!

Ingredients for about 24 cookies

Instructions

Make the Dough:

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg, vanilla, almond extract (if using), and orange zest. Mix well. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, alternating with the milk or orange juice, until a soft dough forms. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (or overnight for best results).

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and line the baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll and Cut the Dough: Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to about ¼ inches thick. Use a round cutter (about 3 inches in diameter) to cut circles.

Fill and Shape: Place ½ teaspoon of your chosen filling in the center of each circle. Fold up three sides, pinching the corners to form a triangular shape, exposing some filling in the center.

Bake: Place cookies on a lined baking sheet for 12-15 minutes or until lightly golden at the edges.

Cool and Enjoy! Let the hamantaschen cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack.

Chef Walters Culinary Tourism / Tours 2025

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