As if you needed an excuse to crave for Italian food again this week
Being a deliberately much-anticipated holiday season, Italians enter into Christmas lunch talking starting from November: “Shall we cut the main courses to only three this year?” - “Should we even put the wine glass at Nonna’s table seat this time?” - “The custard for Panettone was definitely not enough, let’s make it 2 kgs.”
Trust me when I say that a few friends have already started thoughtful fasting to prepare their bellies to what’s yet to come, and what’s coming is usually a cheerful family get-together spent sitting at a table, repeatedly toasting, for hours.
What’s on an Italian Christmas lunch table?
As you could very well imagine, the types of food served throughout a Christmas lunch vary from North to South, where southern families would prefer fish-based preparations thanks to the richness of the sea that waters its crystalline coasts, as northern Italians will mostly cook up meat-based courses.
APERITIVO – happy hour
Aperitivo is generally enjoyed in the living room where the coffee table - and pretty much every other surface available - is covered with finger food-size delicacies to dig in for: from salami and cold cuts to briny olives, artichokes, few types of bread including pizza, and an ever-growing selection of fine Italian cheeses.
At this stage, an important rule to bear in mind is not to get over-excited and tuck everything in already, because the Christmas lunch is a lengthy affair and you want to get to the finish line alive, don’t you?
ANTIPASTI – appetizers
Here it goes, take a seat and get comfy because Christmas lunch is getting real; napkin on your laps, a quick glance to pledge alliance to your uncle who has just hidden a bottle of prosecco under the table and kick-off the feasting time with the first round of antipasti.
Again, it varies according to each region, but most Italians are used to having stuffed eggs, Olivier salad, shrimps’ cocktail, Vitello Tonnato (cold, sliced Veal with tuna-flavored mayonnaise sauce) and creative sea-food based dishes for Antipasto.
PRIMI – first courses
Call it cliché, or rather a tradition, but it wouldn’t be a proper Italian meal without a pasta-based course. Having had the luck to witness our grandmas crafting and passing down recipes to us since we advanced from the kids’ table to the adults’, we owe it to our millennial food culture to keep this rooted habit going.
In fact, few things in life are as certain as a Bologna citizen who will have Tortellini for Christmas or a Napoli fellow who will roll its fork around a bowl of spaghetti with clams. Lasagna, Timballo and Cannelloni are also widely consumed all over the boot.
SECONDI – second courses
Roasted meat takes the spotlight when it comes to second courses: roasted turkey, Zampone (the skin of a pig’s foot filled with spiced mincemeat) or Cotechino paired with lentils, for good luck and prosperity, or, more wisely, sided by a selection of veggies (in Italian, literally: to degrease).
Moving towards the bottom of the boot, sea-food dishes are found at the Christmas table as the second courses: shrimps and prawns, fried fish with veggies (and, honestly, any other thing that can be fried in oil).
DOLCI – desserts
Born in Milano at the dawn of the 20th century, Panettone is a sweet cake-like bread filled with raisins and candied oranges; ever since, it represents, uncontested, the lead of Italian families’ Christmas celebrations deserts.
His twin brother from Verona, Pandoro, is a mild version of it and comes bare of fillings; its baking procedures differ slightly from those of Panettone, yet, they both come accompanied by a choice of flavored custards, chocolate dips and other creams.
Southern Italians also serve Struffoli for dessert, small fried dough balls topped with colored sugar marbles, while Torrone (nougat candy) is also widely enjoyed all over Italy.
When it comes to eating during Christmas in Italy, all bets are off, so why not indulging in a coffee and limoncello at the end of the meal?
By this time - check your watch - see it is actually dinner time again? Welcome to Italy!
Auguri from La Tavola Team