Christmas Eve dinner in Italy is a seafood-lover's dream! (photo by Matteo Paciotti Photography via flickr)
When asked about holiday traditions, most Italians’ first response will be about food. Alongside some everyday staples, special plates of fish, delicate side dishes, and hearty meats are paired with regional wines and bubbly prosecco to round out the traditional holiday menu. But it’s not just about feasting—the most important thing about the holidays is gathering around a table with family and friends to reflect on the year that has past and to share in a meal that has been prepared with love. So put some Italian flair on your holiday meals this year by adding some of these specialties.
Christmas Eve
The most well-known Italian Christmas Eve menu has seven fish, but, depending on the town, it can contain nine or thirteen! This menu, mainly found in Naples and Southern Italy, is fairly strict: drowned broccoli rabe, vermicelli (either with anchovies, clams, or just olive oil and garlic), eel, fish salad, and dessert. The other fish dishes are served around the eel, and can include lobster, baccala, mussels, shrimp, or whatever fish the chef can get. In other parts of Italy, like Rome, expect some fish dishes on Christmas Eve rounded out by fried antipasti like mozzarella and artichokes.
Christmas Day
The mid-day Christmas feast centers around turkey, or in some cases pheasant, rooster, or pork. The primi piatti consist of baked pasta like lasagna or the soup cappelletti in brodo, which features pasta stuffed with meats, cheese, or pumpkin. Small plates and sides include crostini, sometimes with chicken liver or rabbit paté; boiled spinach; and roasted potatoes.
New Year’s Eve and Day
Capodanno meals are just as elaborate as those served at Christmas and usually focus around lentils, their round shape representing coins and therefore riches for the coming year. You’ll also find stuffed pig’s foot, called zampone, and, obviously, plenty of prosecco.
Dolci
Of course, these meals finish with a dolci, or dessert. The most commonly served is the panettone, a dome-shaped sweet bread from Milan that traditionally contains candied fruit. Other sweet tooth favorites include struffoli, fried balls of dough and honey; cenci, fried dough sprinkled with powdered sugar; panforte and pandolce, sweet breads from Siena and Genoa, respectively; rococo, almond rings; toasted almond ice cream; and dried fruits and nuts.
Buone feste e buon appetito!
