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Italian Christmas Eve Dinner

By Phil Torre

It is a tradition with many Italian families to celebrate Christmas Eve with an elaborate fish banquet. Sometimes referred to as The Feast of the Seven Fishes, not everybody sticks to exactly seven; some go up to 11 or 12, predominantly shellfish. Personally, since I am allergic to shellfish, I have a feast of one fish, Red Snapper Livornesa (actually, since it is Christmas Eve we usually splurge and use Chilean Sea Bass rather than snapper).

Since my Christmas Eve dinner is scaled down, I decided to consult with my cousin Sal for some menu suggestions. He is the one person I know that still goes all out with the Christmas Eve tradition. Sal was very excited to discuss his feast with me and got right into the menu. "I start off with Fried Calamari," he detailed. "My trick is mixing equal parts all purpose and semolina flour for the batter. The semolina gives it a really nice texture."

In addition to the calamari, his menu includes shrimp, clams, mussels, crab and his show-stopping main course, Stuffed Lobster. This year he is looking to add an octopus salad, the recipe for which he is working on with his mother, my Aunt Maria. Maybe next year we will have to update this page with that recipe. Enjoy and have a happy and healthy Holiday season.

Christmas Eve Menu

Appetizers

Fried Calamari
Clams and Mussels Posillipo
Shrimp Scampi
Clams Oreganato

Pasta

Linguini White Clam Sauce
Linguini with Blue Crab Sauce

Entrees

Red Snapper Livornesa
Stuffed Lobster

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