Špenát s vejcem a bramborem

The story

Czechs call the Thursday before Easter Zelený čtvrtek, Green Thursday, and folk custom asked for something green on the table that day. Two reasons come down with the custom: green food was said to keep a person healthy for the rest of the year, and green peas stood for money in the year ahead. In the countryside the first green was usually young nettles, and cooks turned them into kopřivový špenát, nettle spinach, served with a fried egg that Czechs call volské oko, the ox eye. Green Thursday falls in Lent, and the plate is a meatless meal of greens, egg and potatoes. The same morning, sweet jidáše buns spread with honey were eaten for breakfast. It is also the day when, in Czech tradition, the church bells fall silent and fly to Rome, and wooden rattles call people to Mass in their place. The English-language site Cook Like Czechs names Green Thursday as a typical day for spinach sauce made with garden spinach and thickened, as here, with a light roux and milk. In 2027 Green Thursday is March 25. Start the potatoes first; the spinach and eggs are ready in the time they take to cook.