There are many food traditions that are associated with Palm Sunday

They spread branches from palm trees on the road as he approached, to pave his way. Churches across the world observe Palm Sunday. It’s the last Sunday in Lent and is also known as Passion Sunday and palm branches are woven into crosses to distribute to congregations.

There are many food traditions associated with the day. Peas or carlings were eaten in the north of England and Scotland. In England Palm Sunday became known as Carling Sunday and in Scotland it was called Car Sunday. Recipes varied in regions but pea soup or pease porridge were often eaten. This custom is said to stem from pilgrims having a hard pea in their shoe, as a mark of penance during lent, and eating a pea based dish marked the end of this torture. In Italy pasta is eaten with sugo, breadcrumbs and nuts. Sugo literally translates as “sauce” and the recipe I’ve included here makes more than you’ll need but excess can be frozen or will keep for a week in the fridge. The recipe here combines peas, frozen in this case, with chorizo, the sugo and is topped with a pangrattato. Pangrattato is fried leftover breadcrumbs with the addition of almonds here to tick the celebratory box. A British, Italian hybrid of a dish, with a nod to Spain.

In Greece the Lenten fast is broken on Palm Sunday with the eating of salt cod known as bakallaros. You can buy salt cod on the continent readily but is a little rarer here. It was an old way of preserving the fish and I’ve done a light version here of salting the fish for an hour to tighten the muscles. It’s baked and combined with sautéed vegetables, potatoes and herbs then breaded and fried.

Dip the crunchy fritters in a homemade lemony mayonnaise. There is a bit of work making mayonnaise but it’s well worth it. It has a delicious silky texture and you don’t have the added sugar of commercially made.