feast of the seven fishes menu

Why are there 7 Fishes on Christmas Eve?

The Feast of the Seven Fishes, or “Festa dei Sette Pesci”, is a Christmas Eve tradition in many Italian households. Most popular in Southern Italy and in Italian-American homes, this Christmas Eve feast stems from Catholics abstaining from meat in commemoration of waiting for the birth of baby Jesus.

What is the traditional Italian Christmas Eve meal?

In Italy, Christmas Eve dinner is traditionally lighter with no meat and a lot of seafood, while the Italian-American meal has evolved into much more of a feast. Bring on the sword fish, tuna, salmon, octopus salad, smelts, calamari, spaghetti with clam sauce and the famous Italian classic—salted cod, known as baccalà.

What is the 7 fish Italian tradition?

The Feast of the Seven Fishes is the annual Christmas Eve vigil and epic seafood feast that has grown into the most beloved meal of the year in Italian-American households. Steeped in tradition, the Feast of the Seven Fishes is the centerpiece meal of the entire holiday season.

What is a traditional Sicilian Christmas dinner?

Feast of the Seven Fishes, also known as La Vigilia (The Vigil), is a Sicilian-American traditional dinner on Christmas Eve. Like many Italian traditions, the origin and rules are debated.

Cozze al Forno

Calling for just 15 minutes of prep time, "these mussels are loaded up with flavorful ingredients, and get golden-brown and crispy in the oven for a perfect appetizer," she says.

Calamari Panzanella

Panzanella isn't just for summer, De Laurentiis believes. This creative twist features toasted bread, tomatoes, olives, arugula, basil and your choice of octopus or squid.

Pan-Fried Zucchini

Take a break from the seafood with "this vibrant side dish [that] gets tons of flavor from an anchovy and caper dressing." According to De Laurentiis, the 20-minute recipe is "about as southern Italian as it gets!"

Frutti di Mare

After De Laurentiis posted a close-up shot of a pan full of this "seafood-abundant pasta" that, translated from Italian, means "fruit of the sea," several fans hopped into the comments to call it, "my favorite!!💕💕💕" It's a staple on many Capri restaurant menus, De Laurentiis confirms, and her DIY version uses a bit of "homemade chili oil to give it some great heat throughout.".

Acqua Pazza

"Crazy water" is the translation of this recipe name, which refers to the punchy spices and mix-ins (crushed red pepper flakes, capers, garlic and fennel) that spike the tomato-and-white-wine broth used to poach the sea bass. "My version isn't insanely spicy, but it's full of Italian flavor," she says.

Torta Caprese

A fan describes this decadent chocolate torte as "hands-down favorite dessert recipe! Not too sweet, but just sweet enough. It's gluten-free by default too, but you'd never know it!" De Laurentiis agrees, noting that it is "a quintessential dessert in Capri, and one of the dishes you can't miss when you vacation there.

What is the feast of the seven fish?

Each holiday season, many Italian-American families enjoy a Feast of the Seven Fishes on Christmas Eve. As its name suggests, the lavish, multi-course meal features a variety of fish and shellfish, served as appetizers, entrees, and pasta dishes. Whether you're Italian or simply go wild for seafood, get inspired to host an unforgettable holiday ...

What is the traditional Christmas Eve dish?

Oyster stew is a traditional Christmas Eve dish that many families look forward to enjoying all year long. This creamy version includes thawed frozen hash brown potatoes, onion, and red bell pepper, and cooks all afternoon in your crock pot, leaving your stove and oven free for preparing other dishes. 02 of 34.

What is a good main dish for a holiday?

A baked seafood casserole makes an excellent main dish for when you don't want to linger over the stove. Wow holiday guests when you serve this easy, sophisticated dish brimming with succulent lobster, shrimp, and crab. The seafood is smothered in a sherry -spiked white sauce and broiled at the end to form a beautiful golden crust.

What to do with a whole fish?

Roasting a whole fish is a surefire way to impress holiday dinner guests. With this recipe and just a little olive oil or lemon juice, plus some fresh herb sprigs, you can dine Roman-style on whole branzini, haddock, or whatever other firm-fleshed fish is available and looks good from your local monger.

What is fennel salad?

It's a popular ingredient in Italy, where it is called finocchio. In this elegant, refreshing first course salad, fennel combines beautifully with grapefruit slices, arugula, and creamy avocado, dressed only in a scant drizzle of olive oil.

What Is Feast of the Seven Fishes?

The Feast of the Seven Fishes is an Italian-American Christmas Eve celebration that brings families together the same way Thanksgiving does with traditions that span generations, decades and oceans.

The History of the Feast of the Seven Fishes

Why do Italian Americans celebrate Christmas Eve with a feast like no other? Politics, poverty and family traditions all play into the tradition. Before 1861, the geographic area that’s now Italy was a group of regions, each with its own government.

How to Cook the Feast of the Seven Fishes for Christmas Eve Dinner

The strictest adherents to the seven-fishes tradition will tell you that indeed there should be seven fish on the dinner table, but for the sake of simplicity, consider any and all seafood, including shellfish, to count toward your final fish tally.

What are the seven fishes eaten on Christmas Eve?

There aren’t seven specific fishes to be eaten on Christmas Eve, but rather that you should have a total of seven different fishes.

What does a traditional Italian Christmas Eve dinner menu look like?

Typically, we start with cold shrimp cocktail (in these adorable fishy mini-appetizer dishes ), then go to soup and pasta (see the ah-leege reference below). Then it’s like the ocean exploded and the other 4 fishes come out at the same time.

What to put on your Feast of the Seven Fishes menu

Like I said, we don’t have any hard and fast rules of what to put on our feast of the seven fishes menu.

What is the Feast of the Seven Fishes?

The Feast of the Seven Fishes has its origins in Southern Italy, with a Christmas Eve celebration known as La Vigilia, or ‘The Vigil’. La Vigilia is a vigil counting down to the time of Christ’s birth, which was traditionally placed at midnight on the threshold of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Baked clams

Begin your feast with some bite-sized appetisers - you’ve got seven courses to get through after all. Your first course should be small, but full of flavour, to whet the appetite without being too filling. These deliciously buttery baked clams from My Recipes are a great place to start.

Fried smelts

Fried smelts are a real Feast of the Seven Fishes favourite, and many Italian Americans have fond memories of devouring these deep-fried beauties on Christmas Eves past. Smelts are small whitebait-type fish with a delicate flesh and a mild, slightly salty flavour.

Grilled shrimp scampi

Shrimp scampi is a uniquely Italian-American dish, thought to be an adaptation of an old Italian dish using ingredients that were more readily available in the USA.

Spaghetti with clams

Traditional Italian meals serve pasta before the main event, and it doesn’t get much more traditionally Italian than spaghetti with clams. Our authentic Italian spaghetti alle vongole is simple but satisfying, and makes the perfect fourth course for your Feast of the Seven Fishes.

Baccalá

Baccalá is perhaps the dish that is most strongly associated with the Feast of the Seven Fishes. It is a dried, salted fish, usually cod, and is traditionally left to soak in the sink in the nights leading up to Christmas Eve to rehydrate and draw out the excess salt.

Calamari

Calamari, or ‘galamad’ as it’s known in some families, is another Italian seafood favourite, made from deep-fried rings of squid meat. If you’ve never tried the real deal, don’t be put off by the slightly rubbery versions you get in some restaurants. Cooked properly, calamari is crispy, tender and light.

An Italian-American Christmas Eve celebration where seafood is the star

Yasmine is an Associate Editor at Serious Eats. Her work has been featured in Women’s Health and on L’Officiel USA, and she recently graduated from New York University with a master's in journalism. You can find her at Bleecker Street Pizza on any given weekend.

The Serious Eats Feast of the Seven Fishes

The Feast of the Seven Fishes is a celebration with very few rules, aside from the fact that you're feasting on fishes. While there are some popular Italian-American dishes like lobster fra diavolo frequently on the table, the menu really is up to you.

Baccalà

Though both of the salt cod dishes Serious Eats created for this celebration (Filetti di Baccalà and Baccalà alla Napoletana) could technically fit into the above or below categories, the fish is such a staple at this meal that it gets its own.

Cozze Al Forno

These mussels are loaded up with flavorful ingredients, and get golden-brown and crispy in the oven for a perfect appetizer!

Calamari Panzanella

This colorful bread and seafood salad is a coastal staple in Italy, made either with octopus or squid.

Pan-Fried Zucchini

This vibrant side-dish gets tons of flavor from an anchovy and caper dressing – it’s about as southern Italian as it gets!

Frutti Di Mare

A translation of “fruit of the sea,” this seafood-abundant pasta is a classic dish you’ll find in any restaurant in Capri.

Acqua Pazza

Acqua Pazza translates to “crazy water,” referring to the bold and flavorful spices in the sauce!

Torta Caprese

The most fitting end to any Capri meal: the rich, decadent, chocolatey Torta Caprese.