Some people are waiting for Christmas to get presents, others to take a few days off work and others to spend most of the day sitting at the table enjoying all sorts of delicacies!
Because you know, in Italy Christmas is also synonymous with good food and each region, respecting its own tradition, offers typical Christmas dishes to enjoy and share with your loved ones.
Let’s discover, then, what are the traditional dishes of the various Italian regions that you can find on the Christmas tables!
What’s on the Christmas table in northern Italy?
We start from the far north, that is from Valle d’Aosta, where carbonade, a dish based on beef cooked in red wine, cannot be missed at Christmas. Generally, the honey croutons are combined with dried and flavoured sheep or goat meat.
In Piedmont, on the other hand, the protagonists of Christmas are agnolotti and the great mixed bollito, seasoned with typical sauces such as bagnet ross and verd, while in Liguria they primeggiano ravioli and cappon magro, a dish based on fish and vegetables.
In Lombardy it is not Christmas without eel cooked in the paper, in Veneto without polenta with cod and boiled with sauces; in Friuli Venezia Giulia it is a must the brovada and muset, a soup of rape and cotechino to serve with polenta, while in Trentino Alto Adige they show canederli, roe or kid in the oven, strudel and zelten.
What’s on the Christmas table in central Italy?
Passing through central Italy, the dishes begin to become richer and more succulent. It starts from Emilia Romagna, famous all over the world for its cuisine, which serves on the Christmas tables tortellini and passatelli in broth, tagliatelle and lasagne, tortelli di zucca e alle erbette, prosciutto and culatello.
The Lazio Christmas tables, on the other hand, are filled with cod, accompanied by mixed fried vegetables and capitone, to make room for fish soup and pasta and broccoli in broth of Arzilla for the eve dinner. There is also a lot of spaghetti with anchovies, fried or carpione eel, pointelle salad and endless desserts, such as torrone and pampepato.
In Molise the protagonists of Christmas are the brodetto termolese, the soup of cardi and cod, made or torn with bread crumbs, garlic, bay, raisins, pine nuts, oregano and walnuts or baked with cabbage, breadcrumbs, parsley, novice and raisins.
Crostini of livers, roast duck or guinea fowl, liver and stuffed capon are, instead, the most served on the Christmas tables in Tuscany, while in the Marche we find the maccheroncini of Campofilone and cappelletti in brodo. The latter are also present in Umbria, alternating with cappelletti stuffed capon and pigeon, while in Abruzzo roast lamb, boiled beef, lasagna and soups stand out.
What’s on the Christmas table in southern Italy?
Finally, we reach the regions of southern Italy and the major islands, where Christmas really becomes synonymous with a good meal in company. Starting from Campania, we find capon broth, friselle, spaghetti with clams, stuffed capon with salad reinforcement, struffoli, roccoccò and dried fruit.
Fish, meat and vegetables are not lacking in Calabria, Puglia and Basilicata: the first one has charcuterie without end, passing between bacon, capycola, soppressata and sausage, to accompany spaghetti with bread crumbs and anchovies, capon or stocking fish seasoned with sautéed calabresi broccoli; the second is famous for the tops of rama and pettole, pancakes made from yeast dough stuffed with tomatoes, capers, oregano and anchovies, or with shelled prawns, colander and ricotta, together with roasted eel, Fried cod, baked lamb with lampascioni, turdilli and pitta ‘mpigliata; the third, instead, offers cabbage soup, scarole and thistles in turkey broth, boiled cod and bread with almonds, to finish with the scarpedas, that is fried pasta puffs and then seasoned with honey.
Looking at the islands, in Sardinia it is not Christmas without culurgiones de casu, ravioli stuffed with tomato sauce, and malloreddus, semolina gnocchetti seasoned with sausage sauce. In Sicily, then, Christmas is a riot of colors, scents and flavors: orange salad, herring and onion, cardi in batter, chicken in broth, pasta with sardines, beaked, baked or normal, meatball filled with eggs, ham and cheese, pepperoni, skins, cassate and cannoli are just some of the delicious dishes that you can find on the Christmas tables.
In short, country you go to, custom you meet; in any case, in any region you are for Christmas, the full belly (and satisfied) is absolutely guaranteed!
Copertina : Pixabay