Easter dishes made with hemp

Last update: June 14th, 2024

min. reading

Easter is not only about spending time with family while celebrating one of the most important Christian holidays, it is also about traditional foods. Poland has preserved many wonderful Easter dishes still from the old Polish times. These include, for example, mazurek, Easter baba or eggs in shells. It turns out that foods made from hemp seeds were also known to our ancient ancestors and prepared for various occasions. Combining today’s Easter dishes with hemp seed foods seems to be an interesting idea.

Why use hemp products in the kitchen?

Hemp has a lot to offer in terms of properties. Hemp seeds are extremely rich in various nutrients. Since they are highly nutritious, a small addition of hemp is enough to make a dish much healthier. Products such as hemp seed oil and hemp flour are a rich source of micro and macronutrients. This includes iron, magnesium, calcium, zinc and phosphorus, as well as vitamins: A, E, D and B vitamins. The fat contained in hemp seeds is very healthy, it is 80% essential fatty acids of the omega 3, 6 and 9 group. Hemp oil is a very rich source of EPA and EDHA acids. In turn, the protein contained in the seeds is one of the highly digestible and meets the body’s needs for essential amino acids.

Eggs on lettuce with hemp accent

This is a traditional Easter recipe from the Lublin region, where lettuce, pork ham and mayonnaise sauce are used alongside hard-boiled eggs. Eggs on lettuce are best served on a large platter. The dish is perfect as a prelude to Easter breakfast, served with sourdough bread. It can also be an appetizer for dinner. A hemp touch to this dish is the addition of hemp seed oil to the mayonnaise sauce, giving it a slightly greenish color and a pleasant nutty flavor.

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 4 hard-boiled eggs
• 1 head of butter lettuce
• 6-8 slices of pork tenderloin ham
• 3 tbsp mayonnaise
• 2 tbsp hemp seed oil
• 2 tbsp Greek yogurt
• 1 teaspoon mustard
• bunch of chives
• salt and pepper to taste
• sweet paprika powder

Preparation

Peel the eggs and cut them carefully in half. Wash and dry the lettuce thoroughly in a lettuce whirlpool. Remove excess moisture from the leaves with a paper towel and arrange them all over the platter so that there are 3-4 medium-sized leaves per 1 serving. Arrange ham slices on the leaves, then place 2 eggs each on the ham. In a jar, place mayonnaise, oil, yogurt, salt and pepper. Cap the jar and shake vigorously until the ingredients are combined. Chop the chives. Before serving to the table, pour half of the sauce over the eggs, garnish with chives and sprinkle with a little sweet paprika powder. Pour the rest of the sauce into a saucepan and serve next to the dish at the table.

Easter egg salad with mushrooms, hemp seeds and dill

In addition to vegetable salad, which is the most traditional version of the salad, served on most holidays in Poland, egg salad with mushrooms is often served at Easter. It is much milder in taste and is not as filling as vegetable salad. So it can be successfully served as an appetizer or a side dish to the main course. Egg salad with mushrooms enriched with hemp seeds is more nutritious, due to the high amount of protein in the seeds.

Ingredients for 6 servings:

• 8 hard-boiled eggs
• 150 g mushrooms
• 3-4 cooked medium-sized potatoes
• 5 tablespoons of shelled hemp seeds
• 3 tablespoons of mayonnaise
• 3 tablespoons of natural yogurt
• 1 tablespoon of hemp seed oil
• spices: turmeric, pepper, salt
• oil for frying
• bunch of fresh dill

Preparation

Peel the eggs from their shells and cut them into small cubes, as for a vegetable salad. Peel the potatoes from the skin and cut them into small cubes. Peel the mushrooms, cut them into larger pieces and fry them in oil with a pinch of salt, about 3-5 minutes. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, potatoes, mushrooms and hemp seeds. In a jar, combine mayonnaise, yogurt, oil and spices. Cap and shake vigorously until ingredients are combined. Chop the dill finely. Combine the salad ingredients in a large bowl with the dressing, chopped dill and mix. Leave a few sprigs of dill for garnish.

Easter baba with hemp flour

This baked good for many people is a symbol of Easter. The beautiful, yeasty baba is certainly present on most Easter tables. The version of baba with the addition of hemp flour is much healthier, as hemp flour is very rich in dietary fiber, which helps keep sugar levels steady. The baked goods will also be richer in micro and macronutrients. However, it should be noted that hemp flour is quite heavy, sometimes coarsely ground, in which case it should be additionally ground in a grinder or ground to powder in a mortar. Due to its hard nature and lack of stickiness (it does not contain gluten), do not exceed the ratio of 10% hemp flour to 90% of other flours. The final baked product will be slightly darker than traditional baked goods, due to the dark dye content of hemp hulls, which are a component of the flour.

Ingredients for 1 mold with a 22 cm chimney:

Leaven

• 20 g fresh yeast
• ½ tsp sugar
• ¼ cup milk (can be oat or cow’s milk)

Dough

• 2 cups of wheat flour
• 3 tbsp hemp flour finely ground
• ¾ cup milk
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup salt
• 5 egg yolks
• 60 g soft butter (plus to grease the mold)
• 1 tablespoon candied orange peel
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
• 20 g raisins

Preparation
Mix the ingredients for the starter in a bowl and set aside in a warm place for 10 minutes. In a large bowl, combine 1 cup of whole wheat flour with the warmed milk and salt. Add the starter and mix gently with a wooden spoon. Add sugar, egg yolks, butter, orange zest and vanilla essence and remaining flour. Knead to a smooth, elastic mass (about 15 minutes), such as by hand or with a mixer equipped with a hook. Cover the bowl with the dough with cling film or a cloth and set aside for about 2 hours, until the dough has doubled in volume. After this time, add the raisins and mix.

Transfer the finished dough to a thoroughly buttered mold with a chimney – you can also sprinkle a little flour or semolina on the butter. Again set aside to rise for about 1-2 hours. After this time, put the muffin in an oven preheated to 180 degrees C, bake approx. 35 minutes. Remove the babka from the mold after about 10 minutes after removing from the oven. The top of the cooled babka can be decorated with powdered sugar or icing.