A Time Honored Christmas Tradition
The celebration of the fish feast is an Italian tradition. It is celebrated most often in central and southern Italy. The feast is often referred to as “La Vigilia”. It is the evening meal on Christmas Eve after a day of fasting. The most traditional families have the meal right after attending midnight Mass. The meal is made up of seven different fish dishes. For many it represents a time much like lent. Fasting is not mandatory, but if you are going to eat seven different kinds of fish in one setting it may be helpful.There are very few things that every Italian can agree on, but this seems pretty universal. No one is completely sure why there areseven different kinds of fish. All of the ideas make some sort of sense, but no one seems to mind to what reason you prescribe.- It took Mary and Joseph seven days to travel to Bethlehem.- There are seven days in a week.- There are seven Holy Sacraments in the Catholic religion.- There are seven deadly sins.- There are the seven virtues.- God made the world in seven days.
Take your pick. Whatever the reason, it has become a time honored tradition in many homes.Really it is all about the food. No “meat” is served, but the term fish has come to mean anything from the sea. Some of the more common choices may be clams, scallops, eel, fish, oysters, shrimp, lobster, squid and crab. However, each family has their own favorite dishes and not all the fish is served in a traditional Italian style cooking.Pastizzi is a very traditional dish that is often found on the table. It is a pie made with fish and vegetables (most often shark and zucchini).These mini crab cakes are beginning to show up in one Italian neighborhood in Boston. It has more of a Mexican Flare and Mrs. Giordano was willing to share this recipe. Mrs. Giordano says that she just kept collecting crap cakes from all her neighbors and finally put this recipe together.Ingredients:1 egg8 ounces cleaned crab meat2 cups finely crushed butter crackers (club buttery or ritz crackers)½ teaspoon of green Tabasco sauce2 tablespoons of finely chopped red onion¼ cup salsa mixed with 2 tablespoons of dry ranch dip1 teaspoon of grated lime zest1 tablespoon of lime juice3 seedless cucumbers cut in 4 inch thick rounds½ mango peeled and then use the peeler to peel off thin slices as needed2 well mashed avocadostoothpickscherry tomatoescooking sprayplastic wrapInstructionsCoat a jelly roll pan with cooking spray. Beat the egg lightly, then stir in the crab. Then add 1 cup of the cracker crumbs, ¼ cup ranch dip,salsa, onion, lime zest, lime juice and the Tabasco. Using about a tablespoon of the mixture shape the cakes and place them on the pan. Makes about 25.Cover the cakes with plastic and put them in the freezer. Leave them in a minimum of one hour. If you skip this step of don’t freeze them until they hold their shape you have an odd, but tasty salad.Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Remove the wrap and place them in the oven. Bake 5 minutes and then turn each cake. Bake another 5 minutes, they should be golden brown.Now it is time to make these little crabcakes festive. Count the number of crab cakes and put the same number of cucumber rounds on the platter. Top of each cucumber round with a bit of the ranch salsa. Add the crab cake, a layer of mashed avocado, a thin slice of mango, and then put a toothpick in the cherry tomato and all the way through the layers to the crab cake. (Mrs. Giordano shared this because she doesn’t want another family to have to eat crab cakes all year trying to get the recipe right.)Of course, it wouldn’t be an Italian meal without some kind of pasta. So add some fish to your favorite sauce and include a pasta dish on the feast table. Clam sauce is always a safe and easy choice.Potato stewis a nice addition. It is made with dried cod, with some capers, olives and potatoes. This is simply a great meal in itself on any day.So if you are looking to celebrate La Vigilia, remember seven fish dishes, family and friends and a healthy appetite.
