Ingredients
For recipe see Italy Revisited/Recipes/"Italian Fish and Sea Food Dishes"
Directions
Notes
In Molise and in the Abruzzi region eel was served both with spaghetti tossed in red sauce and then served grilled as a separate course. In the 1950s most Italian-Canadians from these two regions followed this tradition for the Christmas Eve traditional meal. One eel was stewed and served with spaghetti and another eel grilled. Nowadays people seem to prefer American-style seafood. However, very few North Americans of Italian origin serve meat on Christmas Eve and everyone knows why (Don't they?). For centuries the Catholic church prohibited its followers from eating meat on Fridays and on Christmas Eve. It was supposed to be a form of self-deprivation, but for Italians living in the countryside who rarely ate meat as it was too expensive, it was part and parcel of daily living. In fact, prior to World War II, for those Italians who did not live near the sea fish was more expensive than meat. So fish was a real treat on Christmas Eve -- something worth waiting for. |
