Anybody Cooking The Traditional Italian Christmas Eve Dinner Of 7 Fishes?
Written By: The Grindylow on October 21, 2009
32 Comments
I am not Italian but have friends that are, and on Christmas eve, their family would have a dinner that consisted of 7 different dishes of various fish. Some of my memories of these dishes were
Shrimp Scampi
Broiled Scallops
Baccala
Pasta with a Tuna Sauce
Fried Smelt
Stuffed Squid
Anybody out there doing something like this tonight?
Tags: Anybody, Christmas, Cooking, Dinner, Fishes, Italian, Traditional
I’m not, because tonight is my 20th anniversary and I’m not cooking! But my son in Oregon is. We didn’t discuss his exact menu, but being of Italian descent, my experience has been that every cook prepares the seven fishes according to the regional specialties they grew up with.
Congrats to you, eating the baccala and stuffed squid even though you’re not Italian. My husband is a WASP, and he doesn’t even like the smell of them. Won’t eat tripe either (not a fish) which is my favorite dish that my mother used to make for me on holidays.
Hope your dinner is fantastic and enjoyed by all. Merry, Merry!
I might start cooking it, but give up and surrender half way through………..
OYSTER stew…………….yummo!
Hmmm… not sure… I am French Canadian, and we always have Meat Pies, they are called “tourtière.”
That sounds divine!
well the meatless 7 fish xmas eve dinner is a catholic tradition, not just italian. i’m polish and we do the 7 fish but they closely correspond to our cuisine…however, yes. to answer ur question…i am doing something similar tonight.
Having hot dogs.
We’re having cod with eggsauce!
yes my family does that tradition as well but we have some different dishes. and i posted a question about why 7? no one in my family knows. Do u?
That sounds pretty interesting – I never heard of that.
I know some Italians – and I know I like their type of food!
I think you should have Spumoni ice cream for dessert!
better be vegetarian; no toxins, no poison from meat = longer life, better health. also spiritually: compassion, and mercy to all living creatures will fully develop.
This is tradition with my husband’s family – although I’m pretty sure that they go well over seven different sorts of fish. I’ll be stuffed by round 3 but will save room for calamari.
im not. i hate seafood. it stinks up the house
No,i’m not but I LOVE italian food and Chinese!Take me out some time?
We are having a traditional Italian dinner, but not that tradition! Pasta!
Sorry I am a mexicana chica. That is my culture so we are doing a mexican dinner tomorrow for xmas. I though hope you have fun with your friends tonight.
As we say Feliz Navidad prospedo ano felizidad. Or as you say Merry Christmas.
Ah, I am. I don’t eat red meat or poultry, so I eat fish for Christmas Eve.
Traditional Italians maybe?
yes we are having the traditional italian supper and of course roasted chestnuts and pannettone ..Merry Xmas
Not this year
mmm i wish i was now but im not italian either and my brother is picky as hell so that would never work for our christmas
My aunts do that. I remember it being a tradition as a kid but we don’t go to their house any more on Christmas.
At our home we’re doing stuffed calamari tonight, and handmade pizza & cookies.
I have never heard of this but it does sound interesting…Merry Christmas
No we wont be doing that. Our family is polish and german. I love seafood though.
Merry Christmas.
no sorry not doing anything too special for dinner tonight. Oh but that stuff sounds really good though I love seafood. well maybe not the Squid I couldn’t eat a squid. and clams are just gross. But now you got me thinking I really want a crab a Dungeness Crab I think I will pick me up one for dinner. Thanks
I wish! Sounds good. I saw a cooking show the other day (Martha Stewart) that featured a chef cooking that, looked so yummy. It’s hard to watch cooking shows…*sigh*…when will they invent taste-a-vision??? Lol!
Your question brought a tear to my eye. I am blessed to have married into a traditional Italian family, and this was one of the first Christmas traditions that stands out in my mind, from when my husband and I were dating.
His grandmother and mother would spend so much time and energy on cooking all the time, but on a High Holy day such as Christmas Eve, they would follow the traditional Dinner of the Seven Fishes which has it’s beginnings in Sicilian and Neopolitan tradition. My mother in laws family is Sicilian.
It is believed to be based on the week preceding the birth of Jesus, called the observance of the Cena della Vigilia, which some refer to as Holy Birth Vigil. Some people also connect it to Jesus serving the multitudes with the loaves and fishes. There are other connections to the days of the week, or the seven sins, or the stations of the cross; and each family will connect their belief accordingly.
The number of courses are based on the monetary wealth of the family. Some families will have one course consisting of the simplest of pastas mixed with tuna fish, canned in olive oil or fresh. There are combinations up to thirteen dishes for the twelve Apostles plus the Master (Jesus.)
I can remember helping to prepare many of the dishes over the years, when the children of the family were very young, they may only have eaten a bite of tuna while the adults ate the dishes you mentioned above, plus other choices.
One of my husbands uncles specialities was a Red Gravy with Lobster. Red Gravy is a common traditional reference to what is referred to as tomato sauce or marinara. The lobsters would actually be cooked whole in the simmering sauce, and if you are a lobster lover, it is very nearly heavenly.
I learned to prepare many of the dishes, but only prepare a few now as I do not have forty or more people coming back to my house after evening or midnight mass. Everyone is scattered around the world now, and my in laws are celebrating Christmas in Heaven. My husband and I and our children are passing the traditions on, with the blessings and gladness with which they were given to us.
Please enjoy the wonder and blessing of Christmas, no matter what traditions you share.
God bless you and yours.
Merry Christmas and Boun Natale.
no, there’s only my daughter and myself so it would be a waste of food, although we LOVE seafood
no.
were eating lasagna.
hehe.
ewahh dont eat the infected fish
Happy Trails ♥!
no don’t see the point , don’t know any Italians anyway …………………
Omg it sounds really yummy i would love to eat that but we going to be sticking with turkey lol