Book of Days Tales

            Ash Wednesday begins the period of Lent for Christians which involves some kind of personal discipline for 40 days. You get Sundays off for good behavior (all Sundays throughout the year are feast days). Lent was, traditionally, a period of fasting and abstinence, that is, limiting both the amount of food consumed, as well as the type of food. Rules have varied considerably over the years, and these days they are rather lax in comparison with times past. By the time of pope Gregory the Great (c. 540 – 12 March 604), the ordinary rule on all fasting days was to take only one meal a day and that only in the evening (after sunset); and to abstain from animal meat of all sorts, white “meats” (milk, butter, and cheese, called lacticinia in Latin sources), eggs, and wine and oil. Consumption of fish and shellfish was usually, but not universally, allowed. Such a strict fast is sometimes called a Black Fast.

            When I was an active pastor I used to follow the Black Fast in Lent as my own personal discipline – even though Presbyterians do not observe such customs (we are supposed to be austere all the days of our lives !!!!).  It was an individual quirk. Nowadays I eat one meal per day as my normal habit, and do not eat meat often. It’s not a discipline, just a sign of getting old. Now and again, I give up something for Lent – not food. In years past I gave up worrying one year, and anger another. Never took them back up again when Lent was over. That worked well.

            There are dozens of classic Lenten dishes.  Here is a Spanish baked fish recipe. It uses oil and wine normally but for lent these can be omitted.

Ingredients

1 red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
2 small fennel bulbs, thinly sliced lengthways
400 gm cherry tomatoes
½ cup (75 gm) stuffed green olives
1 tbsp baby capers
4 (about 120 gm each) firm white fillets
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp cumin seeds

chopped parsley leaves, to serve
lemon zest, to serve
steamed potatoes, to serve

Instructions

Preheat oven to 200º C/395º F.

Scatter the onion, fennel, tomatoes, olives and capers evenly between 2 roasting pans. Place the fish over the mixture. Sprinkle evenly with paprika and cumin seeds.

Bake for 20 mins or until the fish is just cooked and the tomatoes are tender. Garnish with parsley and lemon zest. Serve with steamed potatoes.