Typical Christmas dishes

Christmas is one of the most beautiful holidays of the year, because it represents an opportunity to see friends and relatives and sit together at the same table. Such an important convivial occasion must obviously be honored with tasty dishes, and in this respect the Italian culinary tradition offers hundreds of recipes. In these lines we will take a short trip through some Italian regions to discover the typical dishes that are served at Christmas.

Northern Christmas dishes

Traditional Christmas dishes in northern Italy are all particularly hot, created precisely to combat the typical cold of those areas. In Piedmont, for example, carbonade (beef cooked in red wine), agnolotti with roast sauce, risotto with radicchio and mixed boiled meat with polenta are a must. Moving to nearby Lombardy, the most popular first courses at Christmas in this region are pumpkin tortelli and "casoncelli alla bergamasca". In this region, however, the real protagonist is the panettone, a sweet that has gone beyond the borders of Lombardy and has become an institution on Christmas tables throughout Italy. If in Lombardy they have panettone, in Veneto they have pandoro, with which many Italians even have breakfast during the holiday season. Returning to the first courses, however, the most popular ones in Veneto at Christmas are capon broth and gnocchi with duck sauce.

Central Christmas dishes

Moving to central Italy, the Christmas culinary traditions of Tuscany are interesting. After midnight, while the children go to sleep waiting for Santa Claus to bring them their presents, the grown-ups enjoy the bardiccio, a grilled pork sausage with fennel. Before this greedy nocturnal tradition, the Tuscans have already delighted themselves at the table with cappelletti in broth and liver croutons. In Umbria, on the other hand, stuffed pasta is the protagonist of the Christmas tables: stuffed cappelletti are a "must" on Christmas Eve. Among the desserts, gingerbread and pinoccate (made with pine nuts and sugar) stand out. In Lazio we are facing that part of Italy where fried foods are the protagonists: cod, capitone and vegetables are all battered. Among the first courses, however, the most popular in Rome and its surroundings are baked pasta and cappelletti in broth.

Southern Christmas dishes

In Southern Italy, Christmas tables are the richest in dishes. Campania leads this special ranking, where among spaghetti with clams, fried fish, capitone, fried cod, struffoli, roccocò and mostaccioli you are spoiled for choice. Another region with a rich menu is Puglia, where the queen dish is definitely orecchiette with turnip tops. Among the other dishes, the leavened dough stuffed with tomatoes, capers, oregano and anchovies, the fried panzerotti and the stewed cod are particularly tasty. Finally, in Calabria, the main dish on Christmas Eve is spaghetti with anchovies and breadcrumbs, but stockfish with potatoes, grespelle (leavened dough with vegetables or fish) and baked kid are also very popular.