The Feast of the Seven Fishes: an Italian American Christmas tradition

Ready to eat some tasty seafood? (Picture: Getty/Metro.co.uk)

Family traditions are malleable, spreading through the generations like gossip, and, especially when it comes to the tasty ones, there’s often no need to question them.

So it’s easy to lose track of where they come from and why.

While writing and researching this article, I learned new things about a festive tradition my family has taken part in every Christmas Eve for longer than I’ve been alive – ever since my mom’s Italian American stepdad married my grandma back in the 70s.

One of the culinary highlights of my whole year, the Feast of the Seven Fishes is a uniquely Italian American custom of eating (you guessed it) at least seven different kinds of seafood the night before Christmas – although some households don’t count the dishes.

It’s thought to have originated thanks to immigrants from southern Italy in the 1800s, with the coast back home making seafood a major part of celebrations.

While it’s not clear exactly how the number seven came into it, abstaining from meat on a holy day is a common thing in Catholic homes, so it’s not hard to connect the dots and see why eating a bunch of fish on Christmas Eve became popular.

A typical appetiser spread in my grandma’s house, with fried calamari, stuffed clams, salmon on crackers and brie and mushroom cups – not fishy, just tasty (Picture: Aidan Milan)

Common dishes include eel – while not a staple with my family, don’t be surprised if you hear an Italian American say that you can’t have Christmas without it – and baccalà, a type of salt-cured cod.

In our household, as my grandma says, it’s ‘practically an all-day affair’, with appetisers of shrimp, stuffed clams, smoked salmon on crackers and fried calamari before a main meal consisting of lobster tails, scallops, and mussels and clams on top of a bed of pasta with marinara sauce. Finally, we have a dessert of cookies and cannolis.

Due to the sheer volume of food, breakfast on Christmas Day is a very light affair – we pretty much lightly snack our way through until dinner.

If this has got you battling a seafood craving, or you want to try your own Fishes Feast on Christmas Eve, here are a few family favourite recipes you can try your hand at.

Last year he served them on a bed of bitter greens (Picture: Aidan Milan)

Scallops with Parma ham

My partner, a far, far better cook than me, took over the Seven Fishes Feast last year, and this was one of his stand-out dishes. Simple, but very effective.

Ingredients:

• 50g butter
• 4-8 fresh scallops, out of their shells
• 4-8 slices of Parma ham
• 2 tbsp sherry vinegar

Method:

1. Put the Parma ham under the grill until crispy, being careful not to burn it
2. Pat scallops dry with kitchen paper, and season well with salt and pepper on both sides
3. Put a frying pan on a high heat, add the butter, and leave until it’s very hot (but be careful not to burn it)
4. Add scallops and cook for two-three minutes on one side until golden
5. Flip, and cook for another one-two minutes
6. Remove scallops from the heat and place them on a plate
7. Put the scallops on the salad leaves, break up the ham into a few large pieces and scatter them on top

Stuffed clams

This is my 100-year-old great-grandma’s recipe, so you’re pretty much morally obligated to like it.

Ingredients:

• 3 6.5oz cans of minced clams – save the juice
• 6 slices of stale bread – 2 per can
• 1/4 cup of grated cheese
• 1 egg
• Large clamshells – to serve. If you can’t get your hands on clamshells, you can spoon the mixture into portobello mushrooms instead
• Approx 1 tbsp of olive oil
• Seasoning to taste

Method:

1. Tear or blend the stale bread into small, fingernail sized chunks
2. Mix all the ingredients together except for the oil
3. Use the oil to grease the clamshells before spooning the mixture onto them, saving a little oil to also brush on top of the mixture.
4. Bake for half an hour at 175°C

Lobster tails

The lobster tails are iconic, frankly (Picture: Aidan Milan)

Decadent, buttery and universally looked forward to, the lobster tails are classed as an emotional, spiritual, physical and mental need for me at Christmas. When it comes to this recipe, only get fresh and quality lobster delivery to your door.

Ingredients:

• 1 lobster tail per person
• Garlic to taste
• Butter to taste
• Seasoning to taste
• Lemon wedges for squeezing on top

Method:

1. Cut the lobster tail shell down the middle, stopping partway down. Lift out the meat and lay it over the two halves, so it sits on top.
2. Mix the garlic with the butter, and put a healthy dollop on the meat.
3. The time it takes to broil the tails for will vary depending on their size, but you can expect them to take roughly between eight and 10 minutes. A good indication is when the meat becomes opaque and starts to look a little crispy.

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