This semester one of my Italian American students who knows I am a foodie shared with me his grandfather’s seven fishes family tradition. I grew up with Italians here in the Hudson Valley, put never heard the term before. So I did some research on this Italian culinary tradition. It's difficult to precisely pin down the origins put it apparently comes from southern Italy and calls for serving seven different fish dishes on Christmas Eve. There are three popular theories about why serve seven fishes: the Seven Sacraments of the Catholic Church—baptism, penance, Holy Eucharist, confirmation, marriage, holy orders, and the sacrament of the sick; the seven deadly sins—pride, envy, anger, gluttony, sloth, lust and greed; the seven days it took Mary and Joseph to travel to Bethlehem where the baby Jesus was born. The fish feast on Christmas Eve can include among other dishes Lobster Ravioli, Tuna Fish and Cannellini Beans, Salmon and Chick Peas, Mussels Marinara, Fried Flounder Filet, Fried Calamari, and Baccalà (bacalao in Spanish) served stewed, in a salad, or deep-fried. Various nationalities besides Italians enjoy baccalà/bacalao (dried salted cod), including the people of Brazil and the Caribbean. Tomorrow I will talk about one of my favorite cod fish recipes from the Caribbean. Below are some traditional seven fish recipes for Christmas Eve.
Video recipes: http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/holidays/christmas/batalisevenfishes
Photo and recipes: http://www.stephencooks.com/2005/12/christmas_eve_m.html
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