My first christmas in Italy and what a celebration! In fact, two days of it. Christmas eve (vigilia di Natale) with my dear friend Emi and her wonderful family, including i nonni. Christmas day (il giorno di Natale) with my other special friends Rosa and Roberto and their families.
After a few days of pre-christmas frenzied activity—the Italians are as crazy as we are when it comes to food preparation, gift buying and last minute catching up to wish each other for the festive season—it’s all about the food… and family… and gifts.
A typical christmas menu
Antipasti
Served with different types of bread and foccacia
- carciofi artichokes
- melanzane picante & ripieni eggplant
- peperoncini capsicum
- insalata russa potato salad, including finely chopped vegetables, boiled eggs and mayonnaise
- acchiughe anchovies
- frittelle di baccala battered and fried fish
Primi piatti
- i pansotti stuffed pasta
- i ravioli al tocco
- le lasagne al pesto
- i gnocchi al pesto
Secondi
- la carne arrosto roasted lamb or beef
- stoccafisso alla Genovese stew made with stockfish or cod
I dolci
- panettone Genovese delicious christmas cake baked with dried fruit
- meringa con crema alla zabaione a featherlight meringue with a creamy filling made with eggs and marsala
I confess that over the two days I ate everything on the menu and more, for research purposes (well, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!).
Buon appetito!
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