Christmas is the festival in which traditions are rediscovered and relived. Customs of distant times, handed down from generation to generation, is jealously guarded as if they were precious jewels. Thanks to some holidays, such as Christmas, Easter, and Carnival, the customs remain vivid. Cooking is undoubtedly an excellent way to preserve traditions, as gastronomy plays a fundamental role in Italian culture. To realize this, think of the typical dishes that are the symbol of certain holidays.
The country’s cooking peculiarity also lies in the fact that in Italy, the dishes and traditions vary significantly from region to region, but also from family to family. For example, in the South, the Christmas Eve dinner based on fish is very common, while in the North, the focus is mainly on lunch on December 25th.
In the Tuscan tradition, specifically in Florence, we find the “bardiccio,” a pork sausage with fennel cooked on the grill after midnight among the various specialties. We can taste the chicken liver crostini among the appetizers, while among the typical Christmas sweets, there are the Cavallucci, pleasantly spiced sweets with an orange scent.
(Image) Cavallucci di Siena via Buonissimo
In Emilia Romagna as first courses, passatelli or tortellini cannot be missing, to be eaten in a broth. Passatelli are easy-to-make strings of pasta made up of simple ingredients: breadcrumbs, parmesan, eggs, lemon zest, broth, and nutmeg. One of the desserts that Emilian children * eat at Christmas is the “Panone di Natale di Bologna,” made with quince, honey, dark chocolate, flour, and dried figs. In some areas of this region, fish-based dishes are also brought to the table, such as spaghetti with mackerel, anchovies, tuna, tomato, or fried cod.
In the Marche region, the recipe of a very tasty baked timbale, the Vincisgrassi, is brought to the table, seasoned with a very full-bodied sauce, made up of different types of meat (chicken, ham, ground beef, and mushrooms). The roasted capon is a second dish typical of the tradition of this region. Among the desserts, there are the “frustingo” and the “pizza di Natà” a kind of panettone enriched with local and seasonal products, such as walnuts, raisins, pieces of chocolate, etc.
Even in Umbria, you eat stuffed pasta, such as cappelletti stuffed with capon and pigeon. Gingerbread is one of the Christmas goodies. It is nuggets with dried fruit (such as almonds and hazelnuts), raisins, candied fruit, chocolate, honey, and other ingredients baked in the oven.
In Lazio, fried foods abound, such as those with vegetables or capitone. Fish soup, roasted lamb, stuffed turkey, and pangiallo are just other tasty dishes from Lazio. Pangiallo is a traditional Christmas dessert in this region. With a round shape and a yellow crust, its filling features the classic winter ingredients: dried fruit, honey, and candied fruit.
(Image) Culurgiones via Strictly Sardinia
We find very delicious Christmas recipes, such as culurgiones, stuffed ravioli, seasoned with fragrant tomato sauce, moving to Sardinia. Another first course very cooked during this period are malloreddus, semolina gnocchi, with a lined and slightly long surface. Among the main courses of meat, there is the suckling pig with myrtle. The most prepared side dishes are simple, prepared with seasonal vegetables, such as radishes. Seadas are fried sweets with a cheese filling, which are accompanied by pure honey. (Image Below)
