What is La Vigilia?
La Vigilia di Natale means the vigil of Christmas, the night of waiting before Christmas Day. The tradition comes from the Catholic custom of going without meat on the eve of a major feast day, so the dinner is built around fish, shellfish and vegetables. The meal is often called il cenone (the big dinner) and it runs over several courses. Many households plan it so they can head to midnight mass afterwards.
What is the Feast of the Seven Fishes?
The Feast of the Seven Fishes is the name Italian Americans gave their Christmas Eve dinner. It became popular in the United States during the 20th century. In Italy you will rarely hear it called that and most people say La Vigilia. The number seven is often linked to the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church, though some point to the seven days of creation instead. Some homes serve nine, eleven or thirteen dishes and plenty more never count at all.
What do Italians eat on Christmas Eve?
The menu changes from region to region and home to home, though a few dishes appear again and again. Baccalà, salt cod softened in several changes of water, is a fixture across much of Italy and is often fried in batter or slow-cooked with tomatoes. The soaking starts a few days ahead, so it is one of the first jobs on the Christmas list. In Naples the traditional centrepiece is capitone, a large eel that is fried or roasted, and many Neapolitans still buy it fresh from the market in the days before Christmas.
A seafood salad of squid, octopus, prawns and mussels dressed with lemon and olive oil is a fresh way to begin. A big platter of frittura di pesce (mixed fried fish and squid) usually goes round the table at some point too, and it rarely makes it back to the kitchen. Many families also fry vegetables such as cauliflower or artichokes in a light batter, and set out marinated anchovies and bowls of mussels and clams, so the table always has plenty to pick at between courses.
Which pasta is served at La Vigilia?
Pasta usually takes the role of the primo, the pasta or rice course that comes before the fish. Spaghetti alle vongole is the best-known choice and appears on countless tables in Naples and Rome, with the clams cooked in garlic, chilli and white wine. Other homes make linguine with prawns, a seafood risotto or a tomato and shellfish sauce. Long, thin pasta is the favourite because it carries light seafood sauces so well.
What are the desserts for an Italian Christmas?
Christmas sweets arrive at the end of the evening. Panettone, the tall domed fruit bread from Milan, and pandoro, a star-shaped golden cake from Verona, are found in almost every Italian home in December. In Naples, struffoli are little fried balls of dough piled high with honey and sprinkles. Sicilian tables often have cannoli and cassata, and across the south you will find mostaccioli, spiced biscuits usually coated in chocolate. A glass of something sweet or a strong espresso keeps everyone going until midnight.
How to host your own Vigilia dinner
Plan it as several small seafood courses served one after another. Begin with something cold such as a seafood salad, then something fried, then pasta, then a main fish dish, and finish with panettone. Buy your fish and shellfish as close to the day as you can, and soak clams in cold salted water for an hour before cooking to clear out any sand. Keep the sauces light so each course tastes of the sea and pour a crisp Italian white all evening.
A Vigilia-style dinner at 40 Dean Street
If you would rather leave the cooking to someone else this December, 40 Dean Street is a seafood pasta restaurant in the heart of Soho, cooking Italian food here since 2009. Order a few plates to share in the spirit of La Vigilia. Start with the fresh mussels with fregola or the crunchy fried squid and zucchini, then move on to spaghetti vongole with clams, chilli and white wine, or the lobster ravioli in shellfish bisque. The pistachio tiramisu makes a fine finish.