On a peninsula that stretches from the Alps to the Mediterranean – for a total length of 1300 km -you’ll find an immense gastronomic heritage of specialty products, recipes and traditions for the Christmas season. When it comes to the regional dishes of the Christmas tradition in Italy, you’ll find ingredients ranging from land to lake and sea, and even delicious versions of the “leaner” Christmas Eve meal with fish or other lean meats!
Regional Christmas first courses: Italy’s North
Valle d’Aosta is well-known for its legume soup with onions, cabbage and savoy cabbage – as well as its legendary alpine cheese fondues. In Piedmont, agnolotti are the most popular dish, though you’ll find a warm Barolo risotto here and there. Liguria serves stuffed pasta with pansotti which, especially in the Genoese area, over the years have supplanted the ‘Natalini in brodo’ – a dish of long macaroni served in capon broth with meatballs or sausage. In Lombardy, popular Christmas first courses are the pumpkin tortelli, while in Emilia Romagna, you’ll find spaghetti with tuna and anchovies that alternate with the classic tortelli (also pumpkin or classic butter and sage in this case). Here, there is no lack of one-course solutions such as crespelle or cannelloni. In Trentino-Alto Adige, gnocchi abound (perhaps made with monkfish tail). In the Veneto region, abundant portions of bigoli, risotto alla trevigiana (with radicchio), riso alla veneziana (with peas), or the traditional risi e bisi alla veneta or riso ‘coe cappe’ made with clams are the dishes eaten most often during Christmastime. In Friuli Venezia Giulia, the protagonists at the Christmas table are potato gnocchi with Montasio sauce and leeks.
Regional Christmas first courses: Central Italy
In the Tuscan hinterland, escargot is a highlight, while in Livorno, you’ll find the best fish soup in the region, called ‘cacciucco’! In Umbria, spaghetti alla ‘nursina,’ with thinly sliced truffled and anchovies, is a delight. In the Marche region, spaghetti with seafood. In Lazio, pasta with broccoli in broth or pasta with tuna sauce. Then in Abruzzo, spaghetti alla chitarra with prawn sauce triumphs (with their delicious fried cod coming in at a close second).
Regional Christmas first courses: The South and Islands
Cod fritters and ricotta calzones animate the tables of Molise, while in Puglia, you can dine on orecchiette with turnip tops and cavatelli pasta with seafood. Then you’ll find escarole soups and pasta with anchovy sauce from Basilicata. In Campania, spaghetti with clams and lobster linguine are a serious thing. In Calabria, spaghetti with anchovies and breadcrumbs. Or possibly, spaghetti with broccoli and red pepper is preferable. From Sardinia, a dish of seafood fregola, linguine with sea urchins, or perhaps delicious ravioli stuffed with seasoned cheese and herbs.