Christmas is a time of celebration, and if you've ever spent it in Italy, you know that Italian food is the best way to celebrate! There are so many traditional dishes to enjoy over the holidays and they change from region to region. For instance, in most of Italy you can't do Christmas without baccala (salted cod fish), but depending on the city you find yourself in, you may follow that with very different desserts. On New Year's Eve, on the other hand, lentils and cotechino and zampone (a special kind of gelatinous pork sausage that is almost exclusively eaten at this time of year) are practically ubiquitous.

Regional delicacies

The Italian Christmas table is a true reflection of local flavours and customs, with a wide variety of appetizers, main courses, and desserts. Smoked salmon is a popular appetizer in northern Italy, paired with an anolini in broth or meat ravioli. In Sardinia, Christmas means seafood; scallops au gratin, seafood salad, or stewed eel are main courses. Elsewhere in Italy you can find traditional Christmas desserts like panettone—a yeasted cake originating from Milan—and almond brittle (particularly in the south).

Italian Christmas Recipes that have become worldwide classics

Tortellini in brodo

Tortellini are a must-have on the Christmas menu. They're traditional, they look fancy, and they taste divine. The tortellino is a rough pasta with a diameter of about 2 cm and can have various fillings, but the typical tortellino from Modena contains Prosciutto di Parma, Parmigiano Reggiano, cooked meat and Mortadella. This dish has been a Christmas favourite since the Middle Ages because of its rich and refined ingredients and is typically cooked in broth and served as a main course on Christmas day.

There's something comforting about eating little pasta dough pockets filled with meat, cheese, and herbs and floating in a fragrant soup or broth. You're also not just eating dinner—you're participating in a culinary tradition that has been around for hundreds of years.

Zampone or cotechino?

Both cotechino and zampone are hearty dishes that go well with lentils (as well as mashed potatoes). This type of sausage is eaten especially on New Year's Eve because it is associated, along with lentils, with the idea of good luck and prosperity. The two dishes are very similar: both are made with coarsely ground lean and fatty pork meat. The main difference lies in the casing: in the case of zampone, the filling is stuffed into the pig's foreleg (in Italian, "zampa"), while cotechino is contained in a natural or artificial casing, which makes it look more like a traditional sausage.

Both were originally cooked and eaten in Emilia Romagna, where they are still widely consumed today—but they have gained such popularity that they are now common Christmas fare throughout Italy. The reason these recipes have become a staple of Italian Christmas tables is because they represent abundance: people eat them during Christmas because they are traditionally intended to symbolize financial wealth and the promise of success in the coming year.

"Capitone" and "baccalà": the most famous dish-based Italian Christmas recipes

No Neapolitan Christmas feast is complete without "Capitone," or fried eel. It is considered an auspicious dish, since the eel, because of its shape, is used as a symbol of the "snake"—and the snake is the symbol of evil. To start the New Year under good omens, the symbolic "snake" is cut up and fried. Moreover, this is a fish-based dish, which counts as part of a "lean", in keeping with the tradition of not eating meat on Christmas Eve.

Another popular Italian Christmas recipe you may want to try is Baccalà, which is a type of salted cod that's been dried and cured. It is traditionally served fried or roasted with a side of potatoes or mash, and it is probably the most popular Christmas fish-based recipe in Northern Italy.

Endless Christmas desserts

The Italian Christmas season is all about indulgence and special treats. In many Italian homes, the Christmas table is set with multiple types of panettone and pandoro, whereas other swear by one option only and refuse to countenance the other one. The classic Milanese panettone recipe includes candied fruit and raisins, but some prefer to substitute both for chocolate chips or creamy fillings. Pandoro is a fluffy sweet bread, originally from Verona, and its entirely raisin and filling-free, but it gets covered in powdered sugar and usually ends up as part of Boxing Day's breakfast, dunked in milk or spread with Nutella.

Other desserts such as panforte (a dense cake made with almonds and honey), torrone (nougat), various types of biscotti and amaretti cookies are also popular. Local variations include fried sweets covered in honey (called Struffoli in Campania and purceddhruzzi in Salento) or in powdered sugar (the so-called chiacchiere, which in our neck of the woods are called "cartellate").

Would you like to try a traditional Italian Christmas lunch or dinner?

If you're looking for a delicious and authentic experience for Christmas, come to the Aia and enjoy what we have in store for you. We're offering a special menu for Christmas lunch and dinner, with authentic dishes from Salento!

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