Natale è una delle feste se non la più festeggiata in Italia. Molte strade, specialmente nelle città più grandi sono piene di decorazioni e molti italiani spendono tempo e denaro a comprare regali, decorazioni e naturalmente cibo per le numerose cene tradizionali che si fanno durante questo periodo dell'anno.
Christmas is one of the most if not the most celebrated day in Italy. Many streets, especially in the larger cities are full of decorations and Italians spend a lot of time and money buying gifts, decorations and of course food for the many traditional dinners happening during this time of the year.
In most Italian homes, presents are opened on Christmas day although some wait until 'Epifania' (Epiphany) on the 6th of January. On this day, it's a tradition for children to receive stockings full of 'dolciumi' (sweets) if they've been good during the year or 'carbone' (coal) made from black sugar if they've been bad.
During this festive period, Italians usually have three main meals; 'il cenone della vigilia di Natale' (Christmas Eve's dinner), 'il pranzo del giorno di Natale' (Christmas day's lunch) and 'il pranzo di Santo Stefano' (Boxing day's lunch). In this blog, we're talking in more depth about Christmas Eve's dinner.
'La cena dei sette pesci' is essentially a light fish-based meal. The origins of the Feast of the Seven Fishes come from southern Italy. This dinner is a celebration of the birth of baby Jesus but also represents the fasting before the wealth on Christmas day, when the dishes are mostly meat-based.
Some of the main typical fish used for the seven dishes are baccalà (salt cod), salmon, clams and calamari. This dinner is then followed by typical Christmas desserts such as Pandoro, Panettone or Torrone.
During these past months, we've covered a number of fish recipes which you could cook for 'il cenone' on Christmas Eve. Two popular starters would be l'insalata di baccalà and la zuppa di pesce.
Baccalà (salt cod) is an acquired taste and if you're doing it from scratch, it takes a few days for it to become tasty, however, it's definitely worth the time. The soup is also one of my favourite heart-warming winter dishes. This soup could be made from any kinds of fish you enjoy the most.
As a first course, it's usually a pasta dish with some kind of fish, usually clams, lobster, salmon or anchovies. My favourite has to be one of the staple dishes from southern Italian; spaghetti alle vongole. It's a basic sauce made from garlic, oil and some chilli added to some beautiful fresh clams and spaghetti. Toss everything together in one pan and sprinkle some parsley on top and the job is done.
Another great recipe is the 'farfalle al salmone affumicato', which recipe you'll find in next week's post. You could also make this dish with leftovers from this dinner for Boxing day.
The main course is most of the time a nice piece of fish such as salmon, tuna, cod or swordfish served with a side of vegetables and potatoes. Some of my favourite dishes are the salmone in crosta and the tonno alla brace. Both dishes have a simple tasty well-seasoned breadcrumb mix covering the fresh fish.
These are only some of the many amazing fish dishes presented in Italian homes during this festive time of year. Let me know if you'll be making a fish dish for your Christmas Eve dinner this year and which is your favourite dish.
To conclude, I want to take this opportunity to wish you all a Merry Christmas full of love, happiness and lots of food!! See you again next week with another tasty recipe! x
