Feast of the Seven Fishes: A Christmas Eve Menu for 8

The Feast of the Seven Fishes is the Italian-American Christmas Eve dinner where every course comes from the sea. It sounds like a restaurant tasting menu. In most homes it’s closer to a long, loud family meal that starts with cold antipasti and ends somewhere around midnight. The hard part isn’t any single dish. It’s timing seven of them in one kitchen without spending the whole night at the stove. This guide gives you a complete menu for 8, how much seafood to buy, and a three-day plan that leaves only the frying and the pasta for the last hour.

What is the Feast of the Seven Fishes?

It’s a Christmas Eve dinner made entirely of fish and shellfish, carried to America by southern Italian immigrants. In Italy the meal is usually just called La Vigilia, “the eve.” The custom grew out of the old Catholic practice of skipping meat before a major feast day. Fish was the obvious stand-in along the coasts of Campania, Calabria, Puglia and Sicily.

The catchy English name, and the habit of counting exactly seven dishes, are mostly American. Catholic World Report’s history of the tradition traces it to southern Italian families in the early 1900s. Many families in Italy never count at all. Others serve nine, eleven or thirteen dishes.

And why seven? Nobody really knows. The usual explanations are the seven sacraments or the seven days of creation. Some families say it’s simply a big enough number to feel like a feast without bankrupting the cook.

Which seven fishes are traditional?

There’s no official list, but a few fish show up on almost every table. They’re the cheap, preserved or coastal staples southern Italian families could actually get in December. Pick seven from this list and you’re squarely in tradition:

• Baccalà (salt cod): the one near-constant. It’s served as a salad, fried, or stewed with tomatoes.
• Calamari (squid): fried, stuffed or stewed in tomato sauce.
• Clams: almost always in linguine or spaghetti.
• Shrimp: fried, grilled, or in an American-style shrimp cocktail.
• Mussels: steamed in garlic broth or spicy tomato.
• Smelts or anchovies: small whole fish, floured and fried. Anchovies also hide in pasta sauces and on fried bread.
• Octopus: boiled until tender, then dressed as a salad with lemon and olive oil.
• Eel (capitone): very traditional in Naples, much rarer in American kitchens now.
• Flounder, sole, whiting or cod fillets: breaded and fried, or baked.
• Crab and lobster: newer, more American additions, often in a stuffed or baked dish.

Most families count by species, not by dish. A seafood stew with shrimp, mussels and clams can count as three on its own. That’s a perfectly honest shortcut if seven separate courses sounds like too much.

A Seven Fishes menu for 8 people

This menu balances cold make-ahead dishes, two quick fried or sautéed courses, one pasta and one main. Each fish appears once, and only two dishes need last-minute frying. Here’s the lineup, in serving order:

1. Baccalà salad with celery, olives, roasted peppers and lemon (salt cod). Made the day before.
2. Shrimp cocktail with horseradish cocktail sauce (shrimp). Made the morning of.
3. Fried calamari with lemon and marinara (squid). Fried to order.
4. Linguine with clams, garlic and chili (clams). Cooked to order.
5. Mussels in spicy tomato sauce (mussels). Sauce made ahead, mussels steamed in 7 minutes.
6. Lemon-caper flounder (flounder). Pan-fried in batches.
7. Crab cakes (crab). Shaped the day before, baked at the last minute.

On the side, keep it simple: crusty bread for the mussel sauce, garlicky broccoli rabe or sautéed escarole, and a green salad. Dessert is usually made ahead. Think honey-glazed struffoli, a ricotta cheesecake, torrone and a bowl of clementines and nuts.

How much seafood do you need per person?

Plan on about 1½ lb of seafood per person in total, counting shells, or roughly ½ lb of edible seafood each. With seven courses, every portion is small. A guest might eat four shrimp, a handful of calamari, a few clams and one crab cake. Shell-on clams and mussels weigh far more than the meat they hold, which is why the total looks so high.

Here’s the shopping list for the menu above, for 8 people:

• Salt cod (baccalà): 1 lb boneless dried fillets. It swells to about 1½ lb after soaking.
• Shrimp: 1½ lb large shrimp (21–25 per lb), shell-on, deveined. That’s about 4 per person.
• Squid: 1½ lb cleaned tubes and tentacles.
• Littleneck clams: 3 lb, about 3 dozen.
• Mussels: 2 lb.
• Flounder or sole fillets: 2 lb, thin fillets.
• Lump crabmeat: 1 lb, pasteurized or fresh.

That’s about 12½ lb on paper. It sounds like a lot, but the clams and mussels alone account for 5 lb of shell. Order everything at least a week ahead. Fish counters in Italian-American neighborhoods run out of baccalà and littlenecks by December 23 every year.

The three-day Christmas Eve game plan

Spread the work over three days so Christmas Eve is mostly frying, boiling pasta and plating. The salt cod sets the schedule, since it needs two to three days of soaking. Everything else falls in around it.

December 21: start the salt cod

Rinse the baccalà, then put it in a large container of cold water in the fridge. Change the water two or three times a day. Keep it refrigerated the whole time.

December 23: the make-ahead day

• Taste a flake of the soaked cod. If it’s pleasantly seasoned, not salty, poach it and make the baccalà salad. It tastes better the next day.
• Make the spicy tomato sauce for the mussels and the cocktail sauce. Refrigerate both.
• Mix and shape the crab cakes, then chill them on a lined tray, covered. Chilling overnight helps them hold together.
• Set out serving platters and label each one with a sticky note. It’s the oldest caterer’s trick there is.

December 24: the morning

• Pick up the live clams and mussels if you didn’t on the 23rd. Store them in a bowl in the fridge under a damp towel, never in water or sealed plastic.
• Poach and chill the shrimp.
• Slice the squid into rings and pat it very dry. Set up the dredging station: flour mixed with fine semolina or cornstarch.
• Season the flounder fillets and keep them chilled on a tray.
• Scrub the clams and mussels 1 to 2 hours before dinner.

December 24: the last two hours

• Set out the baccalà salad and shrimp cocktail as guests arrive.
• Heat the frying oil and start the pasta water at the same time.
• Fry the calamari and serve it straight away.
• Cook the clams and linguine while the calamari is being eaten.
• Reheat the tomato sauce, steam in the mussels, and bake the crab cakes.
• Pan-fry the flounder last and bring it out with the crab cakes as the main course.

How to make the seven dishes

Each recipe below is scaled for 8 people as one course of seven, not as a full main dish. The FDA’s seafood safety guide gives simple doneness checks. Fish fillets should reach 145°F (63°C) or flake easily with a fork. Shrimp turn pearly and opaque. Clams and mussels are done when their shells open, and any that stay shut get thrown away.

1. Baccalà salad (salt cod)

1. Check the salt.Tear off a small flake of soaked cod and taste it raw. If it’s still very salty, soak it for another half day in fresh water.
2. Poach gently.Put the cod in a wide pan, cover with cold water and bring it just to a simmer. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, until it flakes. Don’t boil it, or it turns stringy.
3. Flake and dress.Drain, cool and flake the cod into bite-size pieces, discarding any skin or bones. Toss with everything else and refrigerate overnight. Taste before serving. It may need more lemon, but rarely salt.

Watch a baccalà salad come together (video)

Uncle Giuseppe’s Marketplace walks through soaking the salt cod and dressing it with olive oil, lemon, sweet peppers and Sicilian olives. Their version skips the celery, so it’s a little sweeter. If the video doesn’t load, watch it on YouTube.

2. Shrimp cocktail (shrimp)

Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil with 3 tbsp salt, half a lemon and a bay leaf. Turn off the heat, add 1½ lb shell-on large shrimp and leave them for 3 to 4 minutes, until pink and opaque. Plunge them into ice water, then peel, leaving the tails on. For the sauce, stir together 1 cup ketchup, 2 to 3 tbsp prepared horseradish, 1 tbsp lemon juice and a few dashes of hot sauce. Shrimp poached off the boil stay tender instead of curling up tight. Prefer them hot? Make our garlic butter shrimp scampi instead.

3. Fried calamari (squid)

Cut 1½ lb cleaned squid into ½-inch rings and leave the tentacles whole. Pat it completely dry. For a more tender bite, soak it in 1 cup buttermilk for 30 minutes first, then drain. Heat 2 inches of neutral oil to 360°F (182°C) in a heavy pot. Toss the squid in 1 cup flour mixed with ½ cup fine semolina or cornstarch, 1 tsp salt and ½ tsp pepper. Fry in small batches for 90 seconds to 2 minutes, just until pale gold. Drain on a rack, salt right away and serve with lemon wedges and warm marinara.

4. Linguine with clams (clams)

1. Start the pasta.Cook 1 lb linguine in well-salted boiling water for 2 minutes less than the package says. Save 1 cup of pasta water before draining.
2. Build the sauce.In a large, deep skillet, warm ⅓ cup olive oil with 6 sliced garlic cloves and ½ tsp red pepper flakes over medium heat until the garlic is just golden.
3. Open the clams.Add 3 lb scrubbed littlenecks and ¾ cup bottled clam juice. Cover and cook over high heat for 6 to 8 minutes. Move the clams to a bowl as they open. Discard any that stay shut.
4. Finish together.Add the drained pasta to the clam liquid and toss for 1 to 2 minutes, adding pasta water until glossy. Stir in 2 tbsp butter, the zest and juice of 1 lemon and a big handful of parsley. Return the clams and serve.

Bottled clam juice is the secret here. It doubles the briny flavor of the sauce, and the lemon at the end keeps it bright.

5. Mussels in spicy tomato sauce (mussels)

Make the sauce a day ahead. Soften 4 sliced garlic cloves and ½ tsp red pepper flakes in 3 tbsp olive oil. Add a 28-oz can of crushed tomatoes, 1 tsp dried oregano and ½ cup water. Simmer for 15 minutes, then refrigerate. On Christmas Eve, bring the sauce to a hard simmer in a wide pot. Add 2 lb scrubbed mussels, cover, and steam for 5 to 7 minutes, shaking once, until they open. Finish with basil and serve with plenty of bread.

6. Lemon-caper flounder (flounder)

Season 2 lb thin flounder or sole fillets with salt and pepper and dredge them lightly in flour. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the fillets in batches for 2 to 3 minutes per side, until golden and flaky. Keep them warm on a platter in a 200°F oven. In the same pan, melt 3 tbsp butter with 1 minced shallot, then add ½ cup chicken broth, the juice of 1½ lemons and 3 tbsp drained capers. Bubble for 2 minutes and spoon it over the fish. It’s a classic piccata-style sauce, and thin fish fillets cook in half the time chicken does.

7. Crab cakes (crab)

Make a full batch of our crab cakes with 1 lb lump crabmeat, shaped into 16 small cakes instead of 8 big ones. Chill them overnight. On Christmas Eve, brush the tops with melted butter and bake on a lined sheet at 425°F (220°C) for 12 to 15 minutes, until golden. Baking means no extra frying pan on a stove that’s already full. Serve with lemon wedges and a spoonful of remoulade.

What order should you serve the courses in?

Go from cold to hot, and from light to rich. Cold antipasti come first, so guests have something to eat while you cook. Fried dishes go out immediately, because they lose their crunch in minutes. The pasta comes in the middle, the way it would in an Italian meal. Richer baked or sauced fish come last as the main course.

In practice, that means:

• Antipasti (on the table at arrival): baccalà salad and shrimp cocktail.
• Fried course: calamari, eaten standing around the kitchen if that’s how your family does it.
• Primo (pasta): linguine with clams, then the mussels with bread for the sauce.
• Secondo (main): flounder and crab cakes together, with broccoli rabe and salad.
• Dolci: struffoli or ricotta cheesecake, fruit and nuts, and coffee.

Leave 15 to 20 minutes between courses. It gives you time at the stove, and it’s how the meal stretches comfortably to midnight.

Shortcuts if you’re cooking the feast alone

Cut the active cooking by choosing more dishes that are served cold or made ahead. Seven hot dishes is a lot for one cook. Nobody at the table will mind if three of them came out of the fridge.

• Make one stew count for three. Put shrimp, mussels and clams in the spicy tomato sauce and call it three fishes.
• Buy one dish. Marinated seafood salad, smoked salmon or good tinned anchovies on toast are all fair game.
• Swap the fried course for a roasted one. Toss the squid with oil, garlic and lemon and roast it at 450°F for 6 to 8 minutes.
• Assign a course. In plenty of families, an aunt always brings the baccalà. Let someone else own a dish.
• Choose a showpiece. If you’d rather do fewer, fancier courses, our broiled lobster tails or pan-seared scallops make an easy, impressive main.

How long do seafood leftovers keep?

Refrigerate cooked seafood within 2 hours and eat it within 3 to 4 days, according to the USDA’s leftovers and food safety guide. That 2-hour clock matters on a long, grazing dinner. Don’t leave the shrimp cocktail out all night. Put it back in the fridge between rounds.

Pull leftover clams and mussels out of their shells before storing them. The baccalà salad keeps well for 3 days and is often better on December 26. Fried calamari doesn’t reheat well, but chopped and tossed into the leftover tomato sauce, it makes a quick pasta for Christmas night.

Questions people ask about the Feast of the Seven Fishes

Is the Feast of the Seven Fishes Italian or Italian-American?

Both, in a way. The Christmas Eve seafood dinner, La Vigilia, comes from southern Italy. The name “Feast of the Seven Fishes” and the strict count of seven became popular among Italian-American families in the United States. Many Italians eat fish on Christmas Eve without counting dishes at all.

Do you have to serve exactly seven fishes?

No. Some families serve nine, eleven or thirteen, and others count species rather than dishes. One mixed seafood stew can cover three fishes. Choose a number you can cook calmly. A relaxed five-course dinner beats a stressed-out seven.

How far ahead can you prepare the Seven Fishes?

Start the salt cod soaking three days before. The baccalà salad, tomato sauce, cocktail sauce and shaped crab cakes can all be made on December 23. Leave the fried calamari, clam pasta, steamed mussels and pan-fried fish for Christmas Eve, since they’re best cooked right before serving.

Can you use frozen seafood?

Yes, for most of it. Frozen shrimp and squid are often better than “fresh” fish-counter shrimp, which was usually frozen anyway. Thaw them overnight in the fridge. Buy clams and mussels live if you can, and use pasteurized lump crab rather than frozen.

What dessert goes with the Feast of the Seven Fishes?

Struffoli, little fried dough balls glazed in honey and sprinkles, are the classic Neapolitan choice. A ricotta cheesecake or torrone nougat works well too. Most families also put out clementines, roasted chestnuts and nuts. After seven courses of seafood, something light and sweet is all anyone wants.