Špenátový prívarok s vajíčkom

The story

Zelený štvrtok, Green Thursday, is the Thursday before Easter, and in Slovakia it still comes with a rule for the table: eat something green. Noviny.sk notes that the origin of the name is unclear. One explanation points to the green of the Garden of Gethsemane, another to the German Greindonnerstag, "tearful Thursday," which became Gründonnerstag. The day recalls the Last Supper. In the morning holy oils are blessed in the cathedrals, and after the evening Mass the church bells fall silent until the Gloria of Holy Saturday, while boys sound clacking wooden rattles, rapkáče, in their place. People believed that green food on this day brought health and strength for the year ahead. The first greens were young nettle leaves; spinach later took their place, along with sorrel and wild garlic. Spinach often arrives as prívarok, a thick, spoonable vegetable dish that Slovaks eat as a main course rather than as a sauce or soup, and that is also made from potatoes, legumes, pumpkin or kohlrabi. On Green Thursday, March 25, 2027, serve it with boiled potatoes and quartered hard-boiled eggs, a meatless supper that fits Holy Week.