Easter Down South in Campania

At Christmas or Easter time we drove ‘down south’ to see our grandparents. Though the long drive was often boring we were rewarded with the happiness of being cuddled and kissed by our relatives and spoilt with some “zeppole” fried sweet fritters – we used to buy “3 for 1.000 lire” at the market nearby.
One of the sweetest memories of going down south is that of going to our grandparents country house, not far from Avellino, which was surrounded by hazelnut trees. Nearby was an old public lavatory. So many games and adventures around there! At lunch time grandma Lina's voice would ring out from the house and we would run into the kitchen to eat.
Among the Campania Easter specialties that are still in my heart is “pizza con le erbe” and “pastiera napoletana” which I have already talked about.
For a real ‘pizza con le erbe’, if we are to be strict about it, we need a blend of four different herbs some of which are wild and very difficult to find. Grandma used to get them them at the daily market but in Tuscany it was almost impossible for my mother to find them. So she changed the recipe and made it easier by using only the endive salad. Please southern friends forgive me, you will see that my childhood family traditions have been melted and transformed, but trust me it's still a very good recipe! Enjoy it!