The Lucanian pastarelle are much more than a simple breakfast cookie: they are a piece of Basilicata’s history that smells like home and celebration.

In the past, during Lent, people followed a very strict diet (often without eggs and animal fats). Making pastarelle marked the return to “wealth”: the abundance of eggs in the dough was the way to celebrate the Resurrection and the end of the fast.

These iconic “large cookies”, famous for their incredible dunking ability, have roots in peasant culture and become absolute protagonists especially during the Easter period.

With the end of Lent, Lucanian kitchens were (and still are) filled with the sharp smell of baking ammonia, an unmistakable sign that gifts for relatives and friends were being prepared.

It was traditional to prepare large quantities of pastarelle during Holy Week to give to relatives, neighbors and especially the godparents (the “Santi”).

They were often packaged in straw paper bags or woven baskets, becoming the Easter gift par excellence among village families.

Although the classic shape is the elongated “large cookie”, at Easter it was common to shape the dough in more elaborate forms:
Braided: a symbol of unity.
In a circle (scarcelle): evoking the crown of thorns or the cycle of life.
With a hard-boiled egg: in some areas, a hard-boiled egg was embedded on top of the pastarella and held in place by two intersecting strips of dough, a symbol of rebirth.

The simplicity of old-fashioned ingredients — eggs, sugar and oil — lends itself perfectly to a gluten-free version.

In many Lucanian towns, Easter morning breakfast is a true feast.

Alongside savory foods (like pizzola or salami), pastarelle are never missing: they were used to “cleanse” the palate and were often dunked in sweet wine or fresh milk.