The feast of the 7 fishes is a tradition of celebrating Christmas Eve the Italian way. The night before Christmas we abstain from eating meat, feasting on fish while waiting for the birth of Jesus at midnight. So here are 22 recipe ideas for a 3 meal course plus dessert including recipes you can make ahead.
Merry Christmas!
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Origin of the 7 fishes tradition
Some people wonder if this really is an Italian tradition, and yes it is.
Even if it is not strictly Catholic, the Roman Catholic Church does not require fasting the night before Christmas, we do eat fish on Christmas Eve.
Now, are there seven? Not really. The first time I heard about the number of 7 was in New York, but I am happy to go with it as the Italian Christmas Eve feast has many fish served in different ways, and 7 is a good number to use as a reference, so why not?
Personally I think that the reason we eat fish on Christmas Eve is just that it is easier to digest at night and since Italians like sumptuous banquets, fish is a better option given we will be stuffing ourselves again the next day with meat....and more food on the following days!
7 recipes for each course
So here is a list of 7 (I have added more) recipes for each course of a 3-course meal plus side dishes and traditional Italian Christmas desserts. I am sure you will find something that you and your family will enjoy this Christmas.
If you want to know more about how an Italian meal is structured and the number of courses we serve for a special feast, you can read the article: Italian Sunday Dinner a 6 meal courses.
To ease off your work I have specified which dish you can make the day before and just warm up in the evening before serving.
Starters
Make ahead
📋Easy Fresh Salmon Tartare Recipe with Cucumber
Salmon Tartare is a fresh and light starter, ideal for serving as a simple appetizer for a seafood dinner. It is prepared using raw fresh sushi-grade salmon, cucumber, and red onion marinated with lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, and some mustard to give it a spicy bite. Fresh, light, and citrusy with a silky texture, it is so easy to make. Serve it in small cups with a baguette slice; it is the perfect starter for a standing buffet party.
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📋 Easy French Russian Blinis Recipe With Smoked Salmon
Russian pancakes, known as blinis or blini, are delightful little pancakes that make a delicious appetizer. Traditionally, these small, fluffy, and savory pancakes are served topped with gourmet products like caviar. They are very popular in France, often served with smoked salmon.
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📋Italian Octopus Salad Recipe (Insalata Di Polpo)
Octopus salad is a common starter served at Italian restaurants, especially during summer. Fresh octopus’ meat is very similar to squid in taste and texture, although it has a firmer chunky consistency. The raw octopus is first boiled, then seasoned with garlic, parsley, lemon juice, and a good extra virgin olive oil. It can be served by itself or mixed with boiled new potatoes (Insalata di polpo e patate) . It has a delicate seafood flavor, the perfect starter for Mediterranean cuisine, not only Italian but also French, Spanish, and Portuguese (ensalada de pulpo).
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📋Italian Chayote Squash Soup Recipe With Mussels
This Chayote soup recipe is similar to seafood chowder but is gluten- and dairy-free. The creamy texture of the chayote creates a naturally smooth texture, and there is no need to add cream or flour like in a chowder. This soup is served with mussels, and the bitterness of the Broccoli Rabe or edible flowers Begonia balances their sweetness. It is perfect for dinner parties, as it can be served cold or warm.
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📋Maki and Uramaki Sushi Rolls Recipe
Maki and Uramaki Sushi Recipes are much better when made at home. You can fill them with more salmon than bought in the store or restaurant. While the maki is sushi wrapped in nori seaweed, the Uramaki has the seaweed inside the roll and is coated with sesame seeds. You will learn to make a thin layer of rice easily without getting it stuck into the mat and your fingers. You will never buy sushi at the store again.
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Make last minute
📋Calamari Fritti Crispy Italian Fried Calamari Recipe
Calamari fritti is a classic Italian fried calamari recipe, very easy to make. Squid rings are coated with a simple batter and fried, they remain crispy outside and soft inside. A classic Italian street food you can serve them as seafood appetizers with homemade Aioli, mayonnaise mixed with garlic, and a drop of fresh lemon juice.
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📋Italian Fried Dough Crispelle
These savoury Italian fried dough balls called Crispelle is a classic appetizer we offer with the aperitif especially at Christmas and New year. Inside the fried dough there is a small piece of anchovy, crunchy outside and soft inside ending with the salty bite of the anchovy or sundried tomato, perfect to serve with a sweet Spritz or Mimosa.
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Primo piatto:pasta, rice, stew
📋 Healthy Smoked Salmon Pasta Recipe
This healthy smoked salmon pasta recipe is so easy to make it is perfect for any occasion. It is ready in less than 15 minutes and requires only 4 ingredients, no cream. The smoked salmon is gently stirred in melted butter and seasoned with lemon zest and black pepper. It can be served with a peppery rocket salad (arugula) seasoned with extra virgin olive oil. The simplicity and the goodness of this recipe are guaranteed success for an exceptional dine-in experience.
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📋Spaghetti alla Bottarga di Muggine
Spaghetti alla Bottarga di Muggine, cured salted mullet roe, is the easiest and at the same time very sophisticated pasta dish. It is the perfect solution for a fancy last-minute dinner party. Pasta with Bottarga is ready in 15 minutes and all the ingredients have a long shelf-life, easy to keep a stock in the pantry.
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📋Shrimp Zucchini Pasta
Pasta with zucchini and shrimp is a delicious and healthy one-dish summer meal you can make for family and friends. The zucchini are cooked with garlic and extra virgin olive oil, no cream no butter. You can use peeled or unpeeled shrimp. Shrimp and zucchini are not cooked at the same time as the zucchini take too long to cook and the shrimp only a few minutes. However, by using unpeeled shrimps you can make the zucchini absorb and incorporate the natural sweetness of the shrimp without overcooking them.
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📋Italian Shrimp Tomato Pasta Recipe (No Cream No Cheese)
Light and fresh, this shrimp tomato pasta is a perfect one-dish meal, full of sweetness from the shrimp and the cherry tomatoes. A healthy thick sauce with stir-fried cherry tomatoes and shallot finished with fresh basil, no need for cream. So easy to make, it is ready in only 20 minutes. Add some small scallops or lobster tails for a fancy dinner, and deglaze with a dry white wine.
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📋 Pasta With Squid Ink Cuttlefish
Though spooky it may look, you will love this pasta with black ink cuttlefish recipe. You can really taste the sea, no comparison to the commercial black pasta. And it is not difficult to make.
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📋Linguine Alle Vongole Italian Fresh Clams
Linguine alle vongole is a classic Italian dish with clams that we call: Vongole Veraci. The clams are fresh and it is simply made with garlic, parsley and white wine. If you wish you can also add some fresh tomatoes.
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📋 Pasta with Swordfish Ragu and Eggplants
A delicious summer Ragu made with swordfish. I use the meat from behind the neck and around the top fin. It is tastier and costs half the price of the steak meat. Eating every part of the fish is a way of honoring its death.
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📋Seafood Chowder Bread Bowl
This seafood chowder recipe is a reproduction of the chowder I discovered on my first trip to Ireland, creamy and packed with large chunks of seafood. Mussels, cod and salmon chowder to eat in a bread bowl or with a nice slice of Irish brown bread.
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Make last minute
📋Seafood Paella With Chorizo
This seafood paella recipe with chorizo is a fantastic balance of sweet shrimps, squids, and mussels with spicy sausage. The rice is flavored with a sofrito of onion, peas, peppers, and artichokes and cooked on an open fire in a chicken stock flavored with saffron. This Spanish paella is the perfect dish to make at a garden party. The cooking process is much simpler than the classic barbecue as it doesn't require any stirring. It presents well and feeds a crowd.
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📋 Butter Seared Scallops And Risotto With Peas And Bacon
Scallops and risotto is an elegant and delicate main dish for a special occasion. It sounds like a complicated dish, but it is easily achievable. Fresh pan-seared scallops are served on top of the risotto, making an entire meal on one plate. To contrast the sweetness of the scallops without overpowering them, I make a creamy risotto with peas and bacon. Although Parmesan cheese is nowhere to be found in this seafood recipe, Italians don't like combining fresh seafood with cheese.
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📋Lemon Shrimp Risotto
Lemon shrimp risotto is a delicate sophisticated dish you can serve at a special dinner party. Its lemony flavor combined with the sweetness of the shrimps makes this dish the perfect light entry for a seafood dinner or a main for a formal luncheon. This is a traditional risotto recipe, no shortcuts!
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Main Course
Make ahead
📋Italian Stuffed Calamari Recipe
This stuffed calamari recipe is a classic Italian dish, squid tubes are stuffed with a mix of breadcrumbs flavored with garlic, parsley, and (yes) Parmesan cheese. The sweetness of the calamari are enhanced by the white wine sauce and contrasted by the scent of the lemon zest. A delicious seafood to serve as a main on any festive occasions.
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📋Cod Scallops Salmon Fish Pie With Prawns Recipe
This classic cod and salmon fish pie with scallops and prawns has a creamy white sauce and a crispy topping made with breadcrumbs flavored with basil, garlic and Parmesan cheese. It is packed with vegetables like leeks, carrots and celery. This creamy salmon pie is inspired by an Irish fish pie I had in Howth near Dublin, where the fishing vessels freshly brought the Atlantic seafood into the harbor.
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📋Baked Swordfish and Swordfish Braciolette Spiedini di Mare
Baked swordfish braciolette are rolled swordfish spiedini covered with breadcrumbs flavored with herds and garlic. It is a Sicilian recipe from Catania where swordfish are fished traditionally and sustainably. The swordfish covered in breadcrumbs remains moist as the bread coating retains its juices.
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Make last minute
📋Ultimate Seafood Platter
The seafood platter (plateau de fruits de mer) is the French Christmas version of the feast of the seven fishes. One or two copious plates on a stand filled with an assortment of cold seafood displayed over layers of ice.
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📋Whole Sea Bream Recipe Cooked in Salt
When the fish is freshly cooked in Salt, it retains the freshness of the sea and it is simple to do and presents well. A perfect combination to impress your guests at a dinner party, and you would not believe how simple it is to do!
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📋 Baked Swordfish Wheel
Easy to make and perfect for entertaining a large number of guests, a wheel will serve up to 8 people. For this recipe you will need a round baking pan the same dimensions of the wheel, and a larger pan to cook in the oven in Bain Marie.
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📋Baked Cod with Potatoes And Onions
This baked cod with potatoes and onions is a classic Italian recipe and it is very easy to make. Healthy and delicious at the same time, seasoned with only extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper, no butter. The cod cooks in the oven over a thin layer of potatoes and onions. While the cod remains soft and flaky, the potatoes form a nice crispy crust absorbing the flavor of the onions and the cod.
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📋Healthy Baked Salmon And Zucchini
This is a healthy recipe of baked salmon and steamed zucchini, an easy and quick low calories dinner to make in less than 10 minutes. The salmon bakes in the oven while the zucchini steam in the microwave for only a few minutes, keeping the salmon juicy and the zucchini crunchy. This simple preparation enhances the natural flavor of the fresh salmon and the sweet zucchini.
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Side dishes
📋Puntarelle alla Romana
Puntarelle alla Romana is a classic Roman winter salad; they are shoots from the chicory family called Cicoria Catalogna. They are crunchy and have a slightly bitter flavor. They are cut very thin and seasoned with garlic, anchovies, and vinegar.
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Baby Potatoes Salad with Basil
This simple baby potato salad is easy to make and can be served as a side dish for any seafood main.
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📋Sicilian Potato Salad with parsley and olive oil
This is a very simple Sicilian potato salad with parsley, olive oil, garlic and lemon juice, no mayo. It can be used as a side dish for many mains. It is particularly good with fresh seafood and seafood platters as it is flavored with parsley, garlic, and lemon.
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Green beans marinated in garlic and parsley
This is a simple recipe I often us to serve with fish, it is delicate, crunchy the perfect match to seafood.
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📋Grilled Vegetable Salad Recipe With Summer Vegetables
This grilled vegetable salad is a great side dish for Mediterranean style barbecue. Even better if prepared the day before, so the vegetables have time to absorb the flavour from the garlic, the basil and the extra virgin olive oil.
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📋Roman-style Artichokes Recipe (Carciofi alla Romana)
Roman artichokes are braised artichokes seasoned with a blend of extra virgin olive oil, garlic, and mint. They are cooked upside down in a pot at low heat with olive oil and water until the steam cooks all the way into the artichoke heart. In Italian, they are called carciofi alla romana, which means roman style artichokes. They can be served as a starter or a side dish to meat.
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Desserts
Make-ahead
Nougat Recipe - Italian Torrone
This Torrone or Nougat recipe is simple and straightforward, so you can easily try it at home, using only natural ingredients, no corn syrup. Torrone or nougat is a caramelized mix of marshmallow and honey filled with toasted almonds and pistachios. There are different variations of flavors, hard and soft versions, this is the soft one.
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📋 Pavlova Recipe with Chestnut Cream
This chestnut pavlova recipe is an easy version of Mont Blanc, 2 large round meringues covered with chestnut spread and whipped cream. It is a classic French dessert very popular in Italy, crunchy, creamy, and nutty. You can make it from scratch or buy the main components and just assemble it
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📋Easy Torta Caprese (Italian Flourless Chocolate Cake)
Caprese cake is an almond chocolate cake from Naples, which was created by mistake! There is no flour, so it's perfect for people with celiac disease or gluten intolerance. Creamy and chocolaty, the ground almonds give it a perfect crunchy texture.
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📋Chocolate Sponge Cake With Walnuts
This chocolate sponge cake recipe is creamy and nutty, made with dark chocolate and grated walnuts. A fluffy chocolate sponge cake with a soft and foamy consistency created by the whipped egg whites but also a crunchy texture from the walnuts. This moist chocolate cake is a popular choice for a birthday cake or for a special occasion. The perfect base for a layer cake covered with dark chocolate frosting and topped with fruity raspberries to complete.
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📋 Mini Meringues Recipe
This is my secret mini meringue recipe to make meringues thick and crunchy that doesn’t stick to your teeth, Not secret anymore
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📋Chiacchiere Italian fried cookies
This Chiacchiere recipe is a traditional dessert usually sold during holidays in Italy and in France at Christmas as well as Carnival. They are strips of fried dough covered with icing sugar, crunchy and thin. Once you eat one you cannot stop.
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Freezer friendy
📋Traditional Struffoli Recipe With Cognac
Struffoli is an Italian dessert mostly known as a Christmas tradition from Naples, but in many other Italian regions are traditional during Carnival.
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Make before serving
📋Roasted Chestnuts On an Open Fire or Kitchen Oven
Roasted Chestnuts signal the start of the holiday season. This easy recipe is a family favorite, perfect for Christmas time. Roasted Italian chestnuts, called Caldarroste, have a crispy exterior and tender interior, a festive treat you won't want to miss. Look for them at your local grocery stores or farmers' markets from early October to late December to make these oven-roasted chestnuts for the whole family to enjoy.
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Setting up an Italian dinner table
Once you choose your menu, set up your table and make it festive.
To make sure the serving goes smoothly, check out the article: Italian table setting and etiquette.
Did you know you are not supposed to say: "Buon appetito" before dinner starts?
If you are making any of the recipes above, leave your comment below I would like to hear from you. You can find more delicious ideas if you FOLLOW ME on Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest and Instagram or sign up to my newsletter.
Danielle Wolter
What a great collection of fish recipes! I'm not catholic, but I am all about eating fish for xmas dinner!
Laura
Yes, in the evening fish is so much lighter
Paula Montenegro
I hadn't heard of this feast, but the recipes sound amazing! I grew up Catholic but only heard about fish during Easter. LOVE this idea, thanks for sharing!
Laura
Yes, it is very Italian and therefore Italian-American
Demeter
Wow! So many amazing options to pick and choose from. Thank you pulling all of these wonderful recipes together.
Laura
I am glad you find it helpful, I would have them all at once
Kelly Anthony
What a great collection of Christmas Eve recipes. I love reading about traditions and how everyone spends their Christmas Eve.
Laura
Thank you, yes it is so nice to know about traditions
Heidy L. McCallum
Every recipe link looks amazing. I'm so happy to have come across this round-up! Great holiday recipes. We will be trying a few of these.
Laura
Thank you, I am glad you found some ideas
Noreen
We eat fish on Christmas Eve because of Mary’s labor.
Laura
Interesting, thank you for the comment