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Baccalà in umido with tomato, onion and olives
Photos by New York Scugnizzo |
Like many Duosiciliano Americans, my family still keeps the tradition of La Vigilia di Natale, the southern Italian ritual of eating seafood and eschewing meat on Christmas Eve. We don’t do the so-called Festa dei sette pesci, or “Feast of the Seven Fishes,” but we do eat a variety of aquatic delicacies.Despite regular and varied claims to authenticity, I believe the “Seven Fish” custom is a recent fabrication. Though much more lavish then in the past, according to our matriarchs there were never a set number of dishes served. We simply ate what we could afford, and what was fresh and available.
Today, we normally have shrimp, calamari, clams, mussels and scungilli (whelk), which all can be prepared in a variety of ways. Capitone fritto alla napoletana (fried eel) use to be the main course, but nowadays, since the passing of my grandparents, the dish has been replaced with aragosta (lobster), ricci di mare (sea urchin), seppia (cuttlefish), or baccalà (salt cod). This year, we enjoyed baccalà in umido (stewed codfish) and mini lobster tails.
Following the fish bonanza, we had three different types of meatless panzerotti, a delicious deep-fried crescent-shaped dough filled with onions and capers; sweet ricotta; and the classic mozzarella and tomato.
After the usual assortment of fruit, nuts, and delicious sweets, I left early for Midnight Mass, missing out on (I'm told) a raucous game of tombola with the kids. I also missed our customary passeggiata through Dyker Heights, Brooklyn, to admire the festive Christmas decorations. My family has been doing this for as long as I can remember, though originally it was in Canarsie and East New York, Brooklyn, where my maternal grandparents and great-grandparents were from.
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| Insalata di mare |
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| Fritto misto di mare |
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| Coda di aragosta alla griglia |
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| Spaghetti alle vongole |
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| Panzerotti |
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| Homemade Torrone |
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| Homemade cartellate with fig syrup |
After the Second Mass at Dawn (Commemoration for St. Anastasia) and the High Mass for the Nativity of Our Lord, we spent the rest of our Christmas morning exchanging presents. Normally we would make the rounds and visit extended family and friends until dinnertime, but unfortunately COVID-19 has many on edge. Respecting their wishes, we had to settle for phone calls and text messages.
No less extravagant than the Eve, Christmas dinner was a culinary tour de force with plenty of hot and cold antipasti, insalata, baked manicotti and perfectly cooked filet mignon (i.e. rare). Normally we would have a ham, but since the passing of my father it was replaced with the steak. Fruit, roasted chestnuts, dessert and caffè completed the meal.
Between courses we played the 2020 edition of our family’s highly competitive "Christmas Bowl." Just because we can no longer stomach the NFL (and just about every other professional U.S. sports league) doesn’t mean we gave up playing football. Sadly, after a hard fought match, our side could not repeat last year’s heroics (fluke) and we lost.
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| The Shrine Church of the Holy Innocents (128 W 37th St.) in Manhattan |
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| Before leaving church we lit candles and prayed for the poor and forgotten Souls in Purgatory by the Infant of Prague shrine and the church crèche |
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| Look what I found under the Christmas tree!: (L–R) Nobility and Analogous Traditional Elites by Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira, On Considerations by St. Bernard of Clairvaux, The Counter-Revolution: Doctrine and Action (1789-1804) by Jacques Godechot, Memoirs from Beyond the Grave (1768-1800) by François-René de Chateaubriand, Blessed Charles of Austria: A Holy Emperor and His Legacy by Charles Coulombe; Aladdin's Problem by Ernst Jünger, and The Crisis of Modernity by Augusto del Noce |
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| Prosciutto e melone |
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Cold antipasti with burrata, soppressata, sharp provolone,
roasted peppers, Gaeta and Cerignola olives, and fennel |
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Hot antipasti (actually room temperature) with polpette di ricotta,
focaccia Pugliese, and frittata di scarola |
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| Manicotti |
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| Filet mignon with salad |
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| Homemade lemon ricotta cookies |
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| Homemade Struffoli |
Not quite finished yet, on December 26th, the second day of Christmas and St. Stephen's Day (my saintly Confirmation namesake), we usually celebrate with torrone, a sticky nougat candy made from honey, nuts and egg whites that dates back to Roman times. I like mine with a glass of Strega or Amaro.
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| (L) Makeshift shrine to Santo Stefano. (R) Shot of Strega with Sicilian Torroncino |
As always, the ladies outdid themselves and treated us to another memorable Christmas. Buon Natale!
~ Giovanni di Napoli, December 26th, Feast of Santo Stefano primo Martire
Amended for 2020
