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Among the French dishes traditional served at Easter, you’ll find tourte pascale* and pâté de Pâques, French Easter pies enclosed in a flaky crust, with eggs nested inside the filling. The purpose of this is to use up the surplus of eggs that hens have laid during Lent, the six-week period leading up to Easter when Christians abstain from certain foods, including anything derived from animals.

I love French Easter pies; they are fun to make and present beautifully on the table. These tourtes are often filled with minced meat such as you’ll find in French terrines, usually a seasoned mix of veal and pork. Unsurprisingly, I like them even better when they’re filled with vegetables, especially springtime greens. I’ve made it here with spinach, but if you have beet tops, Swiss chard greens, kale, perhaps a little fresh sorrel, those will work just as beautifully.

Some French Easter pie recipes have you put hard-boiled eggs inside, but then the eggs end up quite overcooked, so I prefer to form little nests in the filling and break the uncooked fresh eggs inside them. With fresh goat cheese — also a springtime treat — mixed in with the spinach, the result is a wonderfully moist and aromatic pie, simple and elegant in both its looks and flavor.

It’s a free-form pie, which means you don’t need any special pan for it: you’ll simply cut out two circles in your dough and crimp them together on the baking sheet — I’ve included pictures in the recipe below.

As with any pie, decorating the top crust is key. I don’t recommend a lattice pattern, which says cherry pie to me; I prefer to cut out little shapes in the scraps of dough. My go-to shape is the leaf because it’s easy and looks pretty, but you could play with other springtime and Easter symbols, such as eggs, flowers, bells, or butterflies, especially if you have tiny cookie cutters in that vein. (See also: my Easter egg jam cookies!)

Traditionally, tourte pascale is served as a first course before the main course, but it makes a beautiful centerpiece for a simple Easter lunch or brunch. For a buffet, people would go crazy for miniature versions baked in a muffin pan, with quail eggs cracked into the filling. And if you’re hosting and have vegetarian guests, they will be so appreciative if you serve it alongside your meat course.

And naturally, it’s a wonderful springtime dish to have in your repertoire outside of any Easter celebration.

Lamb, as a symbol of spring and rebirth, is the traditional meat choice on the French Easter table. If you’re looking for lamb recipe ideas, these are my favorites:

• This braised lamb shoulder with flageolet beans — a classic!
• This slow-roasted lamb shoulder rubbed with rosemary, anchovies, and lemon zest,
• This Iranian-inspired lamb and orange khoresh — so aromatic!

Join the conversation!

Do you celebrate Easter in your family? What does it looks like and what do these holiday meals typically involve?

* Pascal is the adjective relating to Pâques (Easter). “Tourte pascale” means “tourte de Pâques”. It’s also a first name for a boy or a girl (Pascal or Pascale) that was fashionable for the generation just a few years older than me.

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