Lombo da Páscoa

The story

Portugal's Easter Sunday menu changes from region to region. Idealista's guide to Easter food from north to south describes roast kid goat with roast potatoes, rice with giblets and sautéed turnip greens in the Minho, chanfana and roast suckling pig in Beira Litoral, and lamb seasoned with garlic, bay leaf, white wine and olive oil in the Algarve. Porto and the Douro region add beef. The Michelin Guide's survey of Portuguese Easter traditions names Lombo de Boi, also known as Lombo da Páscoa, as one of the most appreciated main dishes there; in 2027 Easter Sunday falls on March 28. The same survey calls the folar, the Easter bread, the sign of plenty after the Lenten fast and the most traditional gift from godparents to their godchildren, and notes that between the Douro and Minho rivers the Easter cake is pão-de-ló.

Neither guide prints a recipe, so this version follows Portuguese home roasts published by Teleculinária, where beef is seasoned with olive oil and sweet paprika or a garlic and red pepper paste, roasted with white wine and bay leaf or with herbs, and served pink or well done. Order a strip loin roast a few days ahead; it feeds six, and a pão-de-ló makes a fitting dessert.