Christmas Eve Menu - The Feast of the Seven Fishes

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kay, I confess. I don't really know the Catholic traditions and holy days. My father was a lapsed Catholic and I was raised in the First Suburban Church of Whatever.

But that doesn't keep me from observing the ancient tradition of the Feast of the Seven Fishes on Christmas Eve. While it's rooted in the teachings of the Church, for me it's just an excuse to go all out with my favorite fish dishes.

The Feast of the Seven Fishes is an Italian Christmas Eve tradition built around fish of all kinds and prepared in as many different ways as possible. Our friends Donna Quadri and Pasquale Felitti introduced it to us about ten years ago in their kitchen in Tribeca.

This post is the second in a series of holiday  menus based on dishes from Stephencooks and selected contributions from some of my favorite other food bloggers. Beau, of the excellent wine blog Basic Juice, contributes wine pairings for each menu. Other posts in the series: Christmas Dinner I (Tuscan Roasted Chicken with Porcini, Sausage and Rice Stuffing) and Christmas Dinner II (Wood-Roasted Standing Rib of Beef).  

Christmas Eve in the ancient Catholic church was a vigilia di magro -- a sacred fast day, on which no meat could be consumed. This stricture has long since been lifted, although many devout Italians still fast on Christmas Eve. In Southern Italy and Sicily the tradition of a Christmas Eve feast organized around fish dishes developed over the centuries, and the tradition lives on in the Quadri-Felitti household, and these days in all regions of Italy.

The menu and the number of fish dishes varies from family to family and village to village, but it's usually seven, although the reason cited for the number varies. Dick Quadri, Donna's dad, says it's a commemoration of the last seven of the Ten Commandments, which prescribe rules of human interaction -- as opposed to the first three, which address human relations with God. Others say it is to remind us of the seven deadly sins. In any case, seven fish dishes is a feast!

Two dishes that seem to show up in everyone's traditional Feast of Seven Fishes are smelts and baccalà in some form or another.

Baccalà is better known to a lot of New Englanders as salt cod -- a staple on the long sea voyages of whalers and traders in colonial days. Also important in Portuguese and Puerto Rican cuisine (it's bacalao in Spanish), salt cod is readily available in markets around the South End.

Smelts are those silvery six-inch fish that show up in the fish markets every year around the onset of winter -- relatives of trout and salmon, they are wild-caught in the winter as they move into position off the coast for their early spring spawning run up the rivers.

Other candidates for the Feast of the Seven Fishes include grilled shrimp; baked oysters in the shell; clam or lobster risotto; pan roasted mackerel; smoked trout; broiled or grilled sea bass; scallop- or lobster-filled ravioli; deep-fried calamari; clams fettuccine; swordfish sautéd with capers and vinegar; and whole bass steamed with anchovies and capers.

Almost any fish dish you can imagine -- preferably with an Italian pedigree -- can turn up in a Feast of the Seven Fishes. Did I mention grilled halibut steaks with fresh tomato and basil sauce? Steamed crabs? Lobster fra diavalo?

The meal is usually served one course at a time, with lots of time between courses, in the Italian tradition, during  which the cooks work on the next dish and the guests drink wine and talk...and talk!

This is our menu for this Christmas Eve. We hope you enjoy the Feast of the Seven Fishes, with these or whatever fish dishes you choose!

Betty's Authentic Baltimore Crabcakes
These crab cakes are a great starter for any meal! And here in Maine, where we have great fresh crabmeat all year long, they cannot be beat.

Wine Pairing from Basic Juice
Quinta da Aveleda's Vinho Verde 
The Portuguese have the perfect wine for succulent crab cakes and Aioli: Vinho Verde (green wine).  It's fresh; it's crisp; it's like squirting a shot of fresh citrus over the top of your crab cake.  Consider your flavor volume turned up.

Artichoke Hearts Provençal
I always like to have one or two non-fish dishes on the menu, for a little counterpoint. This is one of my favorites.

Wine Pairing from Basic Juice

Gruet Blanc de Noirs, NV 
The Vinho Verde will continue to shine with the artichokes, but if you run out, it may be time to add some bubbles.  Considering the richness of the 'choke hearts and ham, a sparkling wine with some added heft is a good idea - a Blanc de Noirs (white wine from black grapes), which is Pinot Noir-based bubbly.  Believe it or not, a sparkling wine from New Mexico fits the bill: Gruet Blanc de Noirs.

Oysters, Brussels Sprouts and Pancetta Gratin
I always have an oyster dish on the menu on Christmas Eve and this is one of the best.

Wine Pairing from Basic Juice

Bodega Pirineos Moriste 2002 
Again either the Vinho Verde or bubbly will work with the Oyster/Sprouts Gratin.  However, since we're moving closer to the main course, let's add a red wine - yet one that's still light and crisp enough to complement the oysters & pancetta in this dish.  Numerous Spanish wines fit the bill; as many are light enough to go with a wide array of foods.  However, this one from northern Spain has a crisp, tart and bitter quality that will echo the Brussels sprouts, so it's the best of the bunch.

Lillian's Christmas Bacallà
This dish is the one that we always have on our Christmas Eve menu. It's a quintessential Italian dish, and for us it carries so many good memories of past Christmas celebrations. Beau suggests that any of the previous three wines will work well with this.

Salmon Scallop Terrine  wrapped in Swiss Chard Leaves
This terrine is a nice change of pace at this point in the feast...

Pan Roasted Smelts
These little fishes are best served with a nice crusty Italian bread for mopping up the garlic-, lemon- and oregano-flavored sauce.

Wine Pairing from Basic Juice

Domaine Weinbach Cuvee Laurence Gewurztraminer 2000 
It's OK to jump back to a white wine - so long as it's a heavy-duty white.  Alsatian Gewurztraminer is a rich white with exotic scents and flavors.  This is one Alsatian Geuwrz that is supremely rich and will add another level of flavor complexity to both the smelts and the salmon/scallop terrine.

Mussels Julia
I don't need much of an excuse to serve mussels, so of course they show up on our table on Christmas Eve.

Wine Pairing from Basic Juice

Belle Glos 'Oeil de Perdrix' Pinot Noir Blanc 2004 
Believe it or not, dry, well-made rosé wines can work quite well with seafood.  The key here is to avoid heavy, overly fruity pink wines (such as 'white merlot' or white zinfandel).  Rosé wines with food-friendly character offer crisp acidity, slight richness and subtle spice.

Seared Swordfish with Pasta all'Aglio Olio
Of course there has to be a pasta dish in this meal, and with all the other things going on I like the simplicty of Pasta all'Aglio Olio with a seared chunk of swordfish...

Wine Pairing from Basic Juice

Feudi di San Gregorio DOC Lacryma Christi del Vesuvio, 1998  
This quintessentially Italian preparation of swordfish almost requires an Italian wine pairing.  And what better to pair with this Christmas dish than a wine named after the 'tears of Christ.'  Lacryma Christi del Vesuvio hails from Campania (Italy's lower shin).  If you can lay your hands on an aged Lacryma, give it a try. It offers evolved flavors of earth and dried fruit, a fine compliment to the seared swordfish and pasta all' Aglio Olio.

And for dessert...
Homemade Pistachio Ice Cream
and
Mayan Chocolate Espresso Cookies
If you made it this far you have either great discipline or great capacity!

Wine Pairing from Basic Juice

Santa Sofia Recioto della Valpolicella 2001  
'Twas the night before Christmas when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, except someone sneaking more Mayan Chocolate cookies. Santa's wine is sweet enough to handle the ice cream.  In addition to the intense dried fruit flavors, it offers hints of toasted almond, which will definitely play well with the Mayan cookies' coffee-spicy flavors.

We wish you a wonderful Feast, and a peaceful, happy Christmas!

Comments

[Ruth]

Somehow I put the comment to the wrong post.

So again, this is the most glorious feast ever!!! And whoever is invited is incredibly fortunate.

Thanks for sharing

[Mona]

What a feast for the soul. You guys make an incredible team. Too bad I'm just reading this now because I would have nominated this for best post in the blog awards. Amazing stuff. I'm printing out and bringing to my family Christmas.

[Andrew]

A great post and superb photos as always - I even agree on a few of Beau's wine recommendations!

[melissa_cookingdiva]

Fantastic!!!I can almost taste your dishes through my laptop, and the photos..., oh they are a work of art. Hugs!

[Donna Steinhorn]

Wow, that's quite a feast. I adore Italian food/feasts and so was delighted to find A Silver Spoon in Costco. It's a translation of the Italian cookbook that is the equivalent of Fanny Farmer or the Joy of Cooking!

[christian]

Looks amazing.. cant wait to try them all! Just recently had smelt for the first time, fresh from Sues in Kittery,- tasty little guys!

Suprised I dont see any Maine Shrimp on the menu... they tasted real nice over the weekend, prepeared 5 different ways...

Enjoy your christmas, I look forward to seeing more of your stuff!

[Robert Germano]

Wondered across your website and just thought I'd drop you a line. First off let me introduce myself. I am Robert Germano, author of the Christmas Holiday cookbook, 'The Eve of Seven Fishes - Christmas Cooking in the Peasant Tradition'.

My cookbook will entice your taste buds with simplistic, authentic Italian recipes from the Old Country.

To view the complete index of recipes in the book, click on the following link.

http://eveof7fishes.com/contents.htm