Christmas Food in Italy
If you’re spending Christmas in Italy, you’ll find the most delicious Christmas food in Italy. It’s an extravaganza of delicious food and wine; and multi-course dinners that will leave you full till New Year’s.
In Italy, the Christmas Eve Dinner is usually a simple affair with seafood following the Roman Catholic tradition of not eating meat during Lent or Advent. Following tradition, some families in the Northern parts of Italy, and serve seven-course meals, while some in the Southern parts of Italy such as Calabria serve thirteen dishes.
With traditions varying from region to region, you won’t ever find the same dish at every Il Cenone di Vigilia, or The Feast of the Seven Fishes as the Christmas Eve dinner is called.
You’ll find a variety of seafood dishes at the Christmas Eve table – from fried salted cod called baccala, to octopus salad, to linguine with clam sauce, to other dishes made with swordfish, tuna, calamari, salmon, and more.
Lunch on Christmas Day however is a feast with every meat possible. From cured meats to lasagna to sausages and beef, here is what’s eaten for Christmas in Italy.
Chrismas Food in Italy
1. Vitel Tonne or Vitello Tonnato (Roast veal with tuna sauce)
From the Piedmont area, this dish is one for those who can’t decide between meat and fish, or who love their meat as much as their fish.
Roasted veal from the back leg called Eye Round is braised and cut thin and covered with a creamy tuna mayonnaise sauce. Served cold, the dish can include seasonings like capers, anchovies, lemon juice, and peppers.
A popular dish for antipasti, the dish is often refrigerated for as long as five days before serving.
2. Spaghetti alle vongole (Spaghetti with clams or tuna)
A popular dish for Christmas Eve Dinner, spaghetti with clams or tuna is often served as the first course or Primi. Originating from the Neapolitan region, it can be made with garlic, parsley, and white wine, or with tomatoes, garlic, basil, and red wine.
One version, Spaghetti Alla Rosinella is made with clams, squid, and shrimp.
3. Agnolotti del Plin (Stuffed pasta )
From the Piedmont region, this dish looks almost like stuffed pockets, but it’s not. Made by filling square shapes of pasta with roasted beef ( agnolotti di magro) or veggies ( agnolotti di grasso), these pasta packets were originally semi-circular in shape.
The popular version eaten for Christmas is agnolotti al plin or agnolotti del plin, where plin refers to the process of pinching the pasta at the edges. After the meat-filled agnolotti are cooked in boiling water they are either served as is or topped with parmesan cheese.
4. Baccala
A must-have for Christmas Eve dinner, the salted cod or baccala is eaten across the country.
Some popular methods of preparation include baccala cannaruta which includes frying it with nuts, onions, and raisins, or baccala cassuola which is cooking it in tomato sauce with raisins, olives and capers.
Baccalá mantecato is salted-cod that has been mashed to a paste with garlic, olive oil, pepper, and salt.
Other variations include baccala with pasta, salad, or simply with veggies on the side.
5. Bagna Cauda
Bagna cauda translates to ‘hot gravy’ or ‘hot dip’. Looking almost like a fondue on top of a burner or heating candle, it consists of a sauce made from anchovies, garlic, and olive oil.
Popular in the Piedmont region since the 16th century, cooked or raw veggies are served with the dish for dipping.