Recipes Holidays + Events Christmas Feast of the Seven Fishes: 14 Seafood Recipes for Christmas Eve By Food & Wine Editors Updated on December 2, 2022 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Photo by Andrew Bui / Food Styling by Max Rappaport To celebrate the Italian-American tradition of the Feast of the Seven Fishes on Christmas Eve, you'll need plenty of seafood, of course. These 14 recipes have you covered, from traditional dishes like seafood stew to a fun and fancy (yes, fancy!) clam dip. Fry up a batch of extra-crunchy calamari to serve with your favorite marinara sauce and a few lemon wedges. Or try your hand at tomato-braised baccalà, which pairs beautifully with a mascarpone-enriched polenta and briny olives. No matter which recipe (or recipes) you choose, you're in for a wonderful feast. 01 of 14 Sea Bass with Sicilian Cherry Tomato Sauce Abby Hocking Extra Virgin hosts Debi Mazar and Gabriele Corcos riff on classic Southern Italian puttanesca with their Sicilian Cherry Tomato Sauce, here made with fresh tomatoes. The recipe calls for wild sea bass, but Mazar and Corcos like to make it with almost any fish, especially rich and oily ones like mackerel or bluefish. Get the Recipe 02 of 14 Spaghetti with Mussels, Clams, and Shrimp © Rick Poon A citrusy, sharp dry white wine would offer an ideal contrast to the briny mussels and clams in this pasta dish. Look for an Italian Pinot Grigio. Get the Recipe 03 of 14 Black and White Pici Pasta with Squid and Shellfish © John Kernick 2014 F&W Best New Chef Eli Kulp prepares this dramatic seafood pasta dish with freshly made, toothsome black and white noodles, which he tosses with a big, briny seafood sauce and finishes with spicy pickled cherry peppers. Get the Recipe 04 of 14 Italian Seafood Stew © John Kernick In this luscious, tomato-rich stew, chef Marco Canora cooks calamari slowly until it becomes super tender. He says calamari is absolutely essential to the success of the dish, because it releases its liquid as it simmers, which adds a huge amount of flavor to the sauce. Get the Recipe 05 of 14 Roasted Sardines with Olives, Capers, and Parsley © John Kernick Here, sardines are first pan-fried with a mix of olives, capers, lemon zest, parsley, and chiles, then roasted in the oven for a few more minutes until they're cooked through. To make this more of a main course, chef Chris Cosentino pairs them with a crunchy salad of artichokes and sunchokes. Get the Recipe 06 of 14 King Crab Salad with Grapefruit and Avocado © Fredrika Stjärne This lovely seafood salad was an improvisation. "I made it with what I had in the house," Italian winemaker Piero Incisa della Rocchetta recalls. "Scarcity breeds creativity." He uses grapefruit juice both to glaze the crab and to make the sweet-tangy salad dressing. Get the Recipe 07 of 14 Swordfish Sicilian-Style © Greg DuPree Of all the wonderful recipes legendary cookbook author Marcella Hazan created, our all-time favorite is this quick-cooking swordfish, where an oregano-infused sauce imparts bright flavor to hot-off-the-grill steaks. The secret is pricking holes in the fish so the lemony dressing seeps in. Get the Recipe 08 of 14 Fancy Clam Dip Justin Walker This classic white clam dip — filled with cream cheese, crème fraîche, and, of course, canned clams — is salty, cheesy, and craveable. Some generous splashes of hot sauce and plenty of fresh dill add brightness and cut through the rich dip. Get the Recipe 09 of 14 Extra-Crunchy Calamari Greg Dupree Want to know the secret to exquisitely tender yet crunchy calamari? Start with a soak in buttermilk. This slightly acidic liquid gently tenderizes the squid, and since the buttermilk is extra thick, it helps the breading adhere to the rings, eliminating the need for beaten egg. For added crunch, you can't beat cornmeal; its fine, pebbly grains fry up crispy. Serve with your favorite marinara. Get the Recipe 10 of 14 Lobster Risotto Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell A small pinch of saffron goes a long way in imparting a vibrant golden hue and floral fragrance to this creamy, indulgent lobster risotto. Precooked lobster and bottled clam juice deliver robust layers of flavor with a minimum amount of effort. San Francisco sommelier Tonya Pitts recommends pairing the dish with a bottle of white Bordeaux. Get the Recipe 11 of 14 Salted Anchovies, Salsa Verde, Bread, Butter Abby Hocking Chef Missy Robbins found inspiration for this dish in Italy. The best part? It's ready in just over half an hour, so it makes for an easy appetizer. Get the Recipe 12 of 14 Baked Clams with Bacon and Garlic Marcus Nilsson In this ultimate version of baked clams, chef Daniel Humm includes chopped clams in the filling, doubling down on the briny flavor of our favorite bivalve. Bacon, parsley, lemon, and a touch of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese add a savory, herby kick. Get the Recipe 13 of 14 Cioppino with Fennel and Saffron Photo by Andrew Bui / Food Styling by Max Rappaport An abundance of seafood and three types of fennel (bulb, seed, and pollen) infuse chef Brandon Boudet's version of this San Francisco fish stew with remarkable flavor, while Calabrian chile paste and crushed red pepper add a subtle layer of heat. Get the Recipe 14 of 14 Tomato-Braised Baccalà with Olives and Polenta Justin Walker Simmering soaked salt cod in a tomato sauce filled with peppers, onions, and olives infuses the fish with flavor and leaves it flaky and tender. Sweet and creamy polenta — enriched with lightly tangy mascarpone — sops up the sauce and balances the brightly flavored fish. Get the Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit