Christmas First Courses

A journey into the flavours that bring Italy to life during a traditional Christmas lunch.

On a peninsula that stretches from the Alps to the Mediterranean, for a total length of 1300 km., you’ll find an immense gastronomic heritage of specialty products, recipes, and traditions for the Christmas season.

Italy’s North

Valle d’Aosta?is well-known for its legume soup with onions, cabbage, and savoy cabbage, as well as its legendary alpine cheese fondues. In?Piedmont, agnolotti are the most popular dish, though you’ll find a warm Barolo risotto here and there.?

Liguria?serves stuffed pasta with pansotti which, especially in the Genoese area, over the years have supplanted the ‘Natalini in brodo’, a dish of long macaroni served in capon broth with meatballs or sausage.

In?Lombardy, popular Christmas first courses are the pumpkin tortelli, while in?Emilia Romagna,?you’ll find spaghetti with tuna and anchovies that alternate with the classic tortelli. Here, there is no lack of one-course solutions such as crespelle or cannelloni.

In?Trentino-Alto Adige, gnocchi abound. In the?Veneto?region, abundant portions of bigoli, risotto alla trevigiana?[with radicchio],?riso alla veneziana?[with peas],?or the traditional risi e bisi alla veneta or riso ‘coe cappe’ made with clams are the dishes eaten most often during Christmastime. In?Friuli Venezia Giulia, the protagonists at the Christmas table are potato gnocchi with Montasio sauce and leeks.

Central Italy

In the?Tuscan?hinterland, escargot is a highlight, while in Livorno, you’ll find the best fish soup in the region, called ‘cacciucco’. In?Umbria, spaghetti alla?‘nursina,’?with thinly sliced truffled and anchovies, is a delight. In the?Marche?region, spaghetti with seafood. In Lazio, pasta with broccoli in broth or pasta with tuna sauce. Then in?Abruzzo, spaghetti alla chitarra with prawn sauce triumphs.

South and Islands

Cod fritters and ricotta calzones animate the tables of?Molise, while in?Puglia, you can dine on orecchiette with turnip tops and cavatelli pasta with seafood. Then you’ll find escarole soups and pasta with anchovy sauce from?Basilicata. In Campania, spaghetti with clams and lobster linguine are a serious thing. In?Calabria, spaghetti with anchovies and breadcrumbs. Or possibly, spaghetti with broccoli and red pepper is preferable.

From?Sardinia, a dish of seafood fregola, linguine with sea urchins, or perhaps delicious ravioli stuffed with seasoned cheese and herbs.