Not a review of dishes, but a real journey into taste that animates the Bel Paese at the most important dinner of the year
In a peninsula that extends from the Alps to the Mediterranean for a total length of 1300 km, an immense gastronomic heritage of products, recipes and traditions prepares to meet the Christmas table with all its load of flavors and … knowledge! Limiting ourselves to the world of the first regional Christmas dishes, Italy does not fail to show itself an incredible alternation of ingredients of earth, sea and lake capable of giving new emotions every time while adhering in part to the tradition that sees December 24 embracing the meager giving up meat.
First regional Christmas dishes: the North
There Valle d'Aosta it is exalted with legume, onion, cabbage and cabbage soups, leaving its legendary fondue of mountain cheese to be interpreted freely in the meal. In Piedmont dominate the agnolotti which are sometimes replaced by a warm Barolo risotto. There Liguria continues to marry the stuffed pasta with the pansotti that, especially in the Genoese, over the years have supplanted the "Natalini in brodo", long macaroni served in capon broth with meatballs or sausage bites. In Lombardy for the first regional Christmas dishes you go for pumpkin tortelli, while in Emilia Romagna we find spaghetti with tuna and anchovies that alternate with the classic tortelli, even here or pumpkin or classic butter and sage. There is no shortage of single-dish solutions like crepes or cannelloni. In Trentino Alto Adige the scene is of canederli, perhaps interpreted with the monkfish tail. In Veneto you give yourself generous portions of bigoli, risotto alla trevigiana with radicchio, Venetian rice with peas or traditional Venetian rice and peas or "coe cappe" rice based on clams. In Friuli Venezia Giulia the protagonists of the table are the potato gnocchi in Montasio sauce and leeks.
First regional Christmas dishes: the Center
In Tuscany, the hinterland highlights snails, while in Livorno it is the fish soup par excellence to reign on the table: the cacciucco! In Umbria spaghetti alla "nursina" with thin sliced truffles and anchovies are a delight. In Marche, we return to sail the Adriatic with sea-scented spaghetti. In Lazio one never gives up the broccoli pasta in arzilla broth (the race nailed) or pasta with tuna sauce, while in Abruzzo spaghetti alla chitarra dominate with scampi sauce preceded by delicious fried codfish.
First regional Christmas dishes: South and Islands
Cod fritters and ricotta trousers enliven the tables of Molise, while in Puglia dinner with orecchiette with turnip tops and cavatelli with seafood. Among the first regional Christmas dishes, the taste of is not missing Basilicata with escarole soups and pasta with anchovy sauce. In Campania, spaghetti with clams is a serious thing or lobster linguine is a serious thing. In Calabria Spaghetti with anchovies and breadcrumbs or, if appropriate, spaghetti with broccoli and red pepper are preferred. Meeting between sea and land for the Sardegna with fregola with seafood, linguine with sea urchins and culurgiones, delicious ravioli filled with aged cheese and herbs.
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