Feast of the Seven Fishes: 12 Seafood Recipes for Christmas Eve

By Food & Wine
Updated December 02, 2019
Celebrate the Italian-American tradition of a Christmas Eve feast with these inspired recipes, from the traditional (seafood stew) to the modern (smoked trout salad with grapefruit.)
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Sea Bass with Sicilian Cherry Tomato Sauce

Credit: Abby Hocking
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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.

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Spaghetti with Mussels, Clams, and Shrimps

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A citrusy, sharp dry white would offer a welcome contrast to the briny mussels and clams. Look for an Italian Pinot Grigio.

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Black-and-White Pici Pasta with Squid and Shellfish

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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.

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Italian Seafood Stew

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In this luscious, tomato-rich stew, Marco Canora cooks calamari slowly until it becomes supertender.

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Seafood Pasta with Tuscan Hot Oil

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To bridge the many flavors in this spicy dish, consider a bracing, savory Italian Pinot Grigio.

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Marinated Fish with Salmoriglio Sauce

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This tangy, buttery salmoriglio sauce—a Sicilian classic—is spectacularly delicious with many kinds of fish, not just those specified here; it's always best to simply trust your eyes and nose and buy what's freshest at the fish market.

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Roasted Sardines with Olives, Capers, and Parsley

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Chef Chris Cosentino pan-fries the omega-3-rich fish with an exhilarating mix of olives, capers, lemon zest, parsley and chiles.

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Sardines with Jalapeño Cream Cheese and Cocktail Olives

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This elegant (and sufficiently spicy) recipe calls for hot paprika and parsley.

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Smoked-Trout Salad with Avocado and Grapefruit

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When presenting their lemony smoked-fish salad, co-chefs Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo spread out the colorful ingredients—avocados, grapefruit, radishes, arugula and chunks of smoked trout—on plates. For a garnish, the pair ingeniously bake the smoked-trout skin until it's crisp, then break it up into shards.

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Squid with Citrus, Chile, and Mint

Credit: © Chris Court
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Chef Carlo Mirarchi often makes this dish with sepia (cuttlefish) and hyssop, an herb with a minty licorice flavor. This version, which calls for easier-to-find squid and fresh mint, is also delicious.

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Gonfietti

Credit: © Simon Bajada
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This Fried napolitano snack is flavored with anchovies.

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Crab, Apple and Watercress Salad with Walnut Vinaigrette

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Sweet-tasting lump crab is sold precooked, so it's perfect for a fast meal. Melissa Rubel uses it here in a crunchy salad that gets a double dose of nutty flavor from walnuts and walnut oil.

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