Draw from other cultures to spice up Lenten meals

Personal renewal and sacrifice need not taste bland.

Christians around the world are preparing for Lent, the 40-day period of fasting and reflection that leads up to Easter, usually beginning on Ash Wednesday for Western churches, though some Eastern churches may begin and end earlier. Ash Wednesday is Feb. 6 this year; Easter is March 23.

For many, Lent entails forgoing meat. Some Orthodox faiths also abstain from dairy, seafood, oil and wine.

Despite those sacrifices, wherever Christianity has flourished, so have rich culinary traditions for this religious season. It's easy to keep your menu lively by using this time to explore the Lenten foods of cultures around the globe. Here's a sampling:

During Lent, Russian Orthodox Christians omit meat of any kind (including fish and fowl), as well as animal products, including dairy and eggs. Weekdays, the strictest days of Lent, they also give up oil and wine.

"It's sort of a gradient of strictness," said the Rev. Seraphim Holland, of the St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church, in Dallas. "We're not fasting to be miserable, we're fasting to not focus on food." The focus, he said, is on prayer. "We're focusing on bettering ourselves."

Meals during Lent are simple, such as cabbage soup, called shchi, and borscht, which is shchi plus beets. Boiled potatoes, beans, lentils, rice, onions and bread also are common.

Traditionally, Russian Orthodox Christians ate buckwheat porridge, called kasha, during Lent. Today, any type of oatmeal or other hot cereal is referred to as kasha and eaten during this season.

The islands of Malta, which are south of Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea, have a sophisticated Lenten food culture, according to Mathew Schmalz, a religious studies professor at the College of the Holy Cross, in Worcester, Mass.

A special almond cake, called kwarezimal, is a highlight. Recipes for these dense, sweet bars vary, but generally call for ground almonds, flour, citrus zest and honey.

KWAREZIMAL

2 cup blanched almonds

(whole, slivered or chopped)

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cups sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Zest of 2 oranges

cup water

cup honey

cup lightly chopped pistachios

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the almonds on the baking sheet and toast in the oven for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon and orange zest.

When the almonds are done, remove them from the oven and transfer to a food processor. Pulse until the almonds are coarsely ground. Add the almonds to the flour mixture.

Add the water and mix to form a very stiff dough. Add additional flour or water to get a tacky, but not sticky, dough. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead several times.

Form the dough into a log, then flatten to form a 6-by-18-inch rectangle. Use a knife to cut the rectangle into 1 1/2-by-6-inch bars. Carefully transfer the bars to the prepared baking sheet, leaving about a half-inch between them.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until just lightly browned at the edges and still tender.

Cool for 5 minutes, then drizzle with honey and sprinkle with pistachios. Makes 12 cakes. *