Think salmon, crab, clams, and much, much more.
At KCM’s end-of-year party this year, we went around the table and shared our plans for the holidays. It quickly became apparent that a number of people would be celebrating the Feast of the Seven Fishes, an Italian-American tradition that takes place on Christmas Eve. The tradition was born in southern Italy, where it’s called La Vigilia (The Eve) but its origin story is multifaceted: Fish was a plentiful resource in a poor region of the country, seven is a number that appears throughout the bible (seven sacraments, seven deadly sins…), and many Catholics don’t eat meat on the eve of important holidays. Presto, the practice was born. Everyone on the KCM team who’s participating does it a little differently — take a look at their mouthwatering variations on this centuries-old holiday:
Emily Creedon, Associate Director, Account Management: My father’s side of the family is Italian, and while my family doesn’t celebrate the tradition every year, we always enjoy the meal when we do get together to celebrate. We love seafood, so the opportunity to have seven different kinds in one evening surrounded by family is a perfect start to the Christmas holiday. Some of our all-time favorite appetizer fish dishes aren’t at all Italian-inspired, including shrimp cocktail, spicy tuna over crispy rice, smoked salmon with cucumbers, crab salad over crostini, and bacon-wrapped scallops. The entrees hit on our Italian heritage a bit more: we love octopus and potatoes, and linguine with clams.
Adriana Fazio, Producer: The Fazios don’t hit all seven fishes — we opt for an abridged version. We start with baccala salad — dried cod, lemon, capers, celery, olives, and parsley. It’s salty and fishy, so if neither of those adjectives sound appealing to you, I’d recommend passing the plate. The other star of the show is the octopus in homemade red sauce that’s simmered for hours, then put over over pasta. It’s delicious and we buy and cook the octopus whole every year. (Please reserve your comments about My Octopus Teacher or anything of the like.) The other reliable dish at the table is fried calamari, which is always a crowd-pleaser. Shrimp cocktail often makes it on the menu, which brings us to four fishes in total.
Alexia Vicario, Senior Account Executive, Sales & Partnerships: Since my dad was born and raised in Italy, as were my mom’s parents, it’s safe to say the Vicarios will follow any Italian tradition out there. We tend to switch up our Seven Fishes feast but the staples include a mixed seafood salad with octopus, scallops, squid, and more, all drizzled in olive oil. Then my grandma will make her two signature dishes: shrimp scampi and fried calamari, which are arguably the best parts of the meal for most of the family. But next comes my ultimate favorite — and the dish I force my mom to cook for me every birthday — which is the linguini with clam sauce. Other honorable mentions are the scallops and baccala (cod). We’ll see if there are any interesting additions this year…
Sam Phelan, Executive Assistant: I’m fortunate enough that my grandmother, who is one hundred percent Italian, lives in an in-law complex attached to our family home. Growing up, I watched her cook incredible gourmet Italian food, so the Seven Fishes Christmas dinner extravaganza is something my whole family looks forward to. I wish I could say we successfully integrate all seven fish, but my mother draws the line at anything with human-looking eyes. (Mamma Mia!) Shrimp cocktail, scallops wrapped in bacon, and calamari are all fair play, but our staple dish is spaghetti with king crab and a red sauce. (Cooked with lots of garlic, chopped onion, olive oil and salt and pepper until the crab is bright red, and then we add our sauce.) While the crab/sauce cooks, and my siblings and I sneak into the kitchen and dip bread into it until my mom notices. We sit around the table with our nutcrackers in hand, swirling our forks into the Christmas plates my mom takes out once a year. It’s quite the experience, and the table is always left with a mountain of orange stained napkins and empty crab shells.
Matthew Sobocinski, Senior Producer: My family has done Seven Fishes in the past, and I believe my sister still does it almost every year with friends. Although we don’t have the Italian roots or family recipes to pull from, my sister and I were raised on the coast of Maine with an abundance of fresh seafood and exposure at an early age to all sorts of ocean bounty. My sister’s now a marine biologist and environmental sciences professor at Western Washington University in Bellingham, WA and enjoys seafood for reasons well beyond that of your average Seven Fishes feaster. Past dishes at our festivities have included raw oysters, steamers (clams), soups like Cioppino and chowders, grilled octopus salads, squid ink risotto or pasta alla puttanesca, whole fish like branzino or striper… but ultimately the family versions have always included whole lobsters – and many years our seven fishes feast is a much reduced one that consists of just New England clam chowder, baked breaded haddock (my Southie mother’s favorite) and bright red, steamed whole lobsters with clarified butter… and you all can fight over the claws and tails, just leave my sister and me all the knuckles (which are the best part of the lobster. period. end. of. story.)
Mary Agnant, Senior Producer & Editor: How’s this for complicated: I was raised Jewish and my husband is Catholic; we met at a Quaker high school and are now both atheists. Because we don’t have a ton of Christmas traditions of our own, this year we’re incorporating some of the customs of our Italian au pair. What we’e learned is that the Feast of the Seven Fishes was started by Italian-Americans longing for their homeland, and while Italians in Italy do have fish for Christmas Eve dinner, they don’t necessarily have seven, so we’ll be serving somewhere in the 3-5 range. We’re planning to have oven-baked salmon as our main dish, and for appetizers we’ll have crostini with smoked white fish, as well as raw oysters (because you only live once). And we’ll also likely have seared scallops on the side.
Rachel Uda, Senior Writer: When my boyfriend invited me to his family’s Christmas dinner, I expected a white elephant gift swap, to gorge myself on rainbow cookies, and to be intimidated by his very loud, very large Italian family. I did not expect….Seven Fishes? I had so many questions (like “Which fishes?” and “Why seven?” and “How did this become a thing?”). And I’ve been given so few answers — only that there will be baked clams and that there’s a possibility there may be six or even eight (!) fishes this year. As a Buddhist who grew up decorating a Christmas tree each year, I’ve come to love the holiday simply for the rituals we create and how they bring people together. And my boyfriend’s version of Christmas Eve feels similar. I’m just excited for the food — and that I don’t have a shellfish allergy.
