When I was growing up, Christmas Eve was a relatively quiet day at our house. There were last minute errands to be done, like going to Shell’s on Market Street in Harrisburg for fresh greens (very little decorating was done in November in those days!), watching “A Christmas Carol” on TV (the original one, I think), visiting our family doctor with a gift of fresh oranges and waiting for midnight Mass.
But one thing was a tradition with my father: dinner had to be fried smelts. This was his link to the Feast of the Seven Fishes, a Christmas Eve dinner tradition that he had enjoyed as a child in Italy. There are many explanations for the symbolism of seven fishes. Some say seven represents the last seven days of Advent or the seven Sacraments. Others believe it was seven fishes to ward off the evil of the seven deadly sins. At any rate, Italians ate seafood on Christmas Eve because, in the Roman Catholic Church, eating meat was not allowed on the Vigil of the Birth of Christ (La Vigilia).
My father spoke of the many delicacies his mother made: octopus, eel, calamari, clams, salt cod or baccalà, mussels and his favorite, fried smelts. No doubt, these were all plentiful in his little village on the Adriatic Sea.
Smelts are small, silvery fish that resemble anchovies or sardines. My mother hated preparing them but did so with great love for “Pop” every Christmas Eve (we had the “Feast of One Fish”). They bought fresh smelts at the market and, in those days, these little creatures had to be cleaned. That meant removing the head, scales, fins, as well as the “insides,” a rather unsavory task. The smelts were then coated with flour, salt and pepper and fried in a deep skillet until crisp and brown. A little splash of fresh lemon juice, and my father relished every bite, bones and all.
This month—assuming you’d rather not prepare smelts—I offer a simple, one-pot stew that is wonderful for those who wish to have their own fish feast on Christmas Eve. It is made from seafood easily obtained at the West Shore Farmers Market or a good specialty supermarket such as Wegman’s. It can be kept warm on the stove waiting for your return from Christmas Eve services or visits with family and friends. The recipe is from “Savoring Italy,” a collection of recipes from Williams and Sonoma, but one that likely comes very close to a dish that my grandmother, Victoria Ruggieri, might have made.
Zuppa di Pesce (Fish Soup)
- In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, sauté 2 chopped garlic cloves and ¼-teaspoon red pepper flakes in 1/3-cup olive oil over medium heat for about 2 minutes. When the garlic is golden, remove and discard. (The goal is to gently flavor the oil).
- Add 2 pounds of cleaned calamari, cut into rings, and cook until opaque. You can use frozen calamari if fresh aren’t available.
- Add 1 cup white wine and simmer for 1 minute.
- Peel and chop 2 fresh tomatoes and add to the pot, along with 2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley and a pinch of salt. Cook until the tomato juices have evaporated. (If you can’t find good tomatoes, use chopped canned Italian tomatoes that have been drained.)
- Add 2 cups water and a pound of small hard-shell clams that have been scrubbed. Also add 1½ pounds of firm, fresh white fish cut into chunks. Use what you like. Halibut, sea bass, haddock and monkfish will work. The key is firm fish.
- Bring the stew to a simmer and cook for about 5 minutes or until the clams open and the fish turns opaque. Discard any clam that fails to open. Add additional salt and pepper if needed.
- Place a toasted slice of crusty Italian bread, which has been rubbed with a sliced garlic clove, into each serving bowl and ladle the soup over.
- The seafood stew would be delicious paired with arugula salad, simply dressed, and maybe some more bread for dunking into the juices. For dessert, try some sweet anise or pignoli (pine nut) cookies and a glass of amaretto.
So, there will be no smelts for us on Christmas Eve, although I do think fondly of my father when I see them in the fish case at the market. But Zuppa di Pesce was one of his favorite dishes, and he would approve.
Buon Natale to all TheBurg readers. May your Christmas be filled with family, friends and, of course, good food.
