Everyone has something they do up for the holidays. Maybe you decorate your tree to a heavy rotation of Mariah Carey lined up on your playlist or dole out priceless doses of bah humbug. My thing is cooking for Christmas Eve. Slowing down and eating and cooking together with my loved ones is what makes my Christmas Eve special — I look forward to it every year. Then I collapse on Christmas Day.
When planning the menu, I let myself be inspired by our local seafood. Will it be oysters, mussels, clams, lobster, or scallops? Choosing just one feels like picking a favorite child — impossible. Which leads me to fantasize about pulling off a Christmas Eve Feast of the Seven Fishes.
“The feast,” as my Italian American friends call it, seems to me to be an epic way to celebrate food and family. I picture a house full of boisterous relatives, Grandma’s homemade pasta, long-simmered sauces, and all the joys, mess, and friction a big family gathering can provide.
A lot of modern-day Italians might draw a blank about this, but the feast has its origins in the southern Italian Catholic tradition of breaking the fast on Christmas Eve while still abstaining from meat and dairy. It’s not really an Italian tradition, though it’s an Italian American one, created in the old country tradition of gathering everyone together around a celebratory meal.
Holiday foods usually symbolize something. The oil for latkes stands for long-burning temple lamps, and there’s the promise of luck and prosperity in a pot of New Year’s black-eyed peas. When it comes to the seven fishes, some think that number reflects the seven sacraments, others the seven days of creation, and there were also those seven deadly sins. Sure, there is a bit of gluttony in such a big menu, but I think it’s more about sharing our blessings. Either way, for a cook this is a fun rubric for planning a holiday menu.
To serve seven distinct fish dishes that complement one another and don’t slay both eaters and cooks is a puzzle — but not as crazy as it sounds. This is a meal that should not be rushed but paced with a mix of raw, room temperature, make ahead, and easy last-minute dishes.
To pull this off, you obviously need some delegating with all hands on deck. While some shuck oysters, others can steam mussels, pour chowder into cups, toss pasta, or clear plates. A look back at fish dishes published here helped our Indie food writing family pull together ideas for a menu.
The trick is to know that each dish doesn’t have to be huge. Lean into that habit of shared plates and little bits and bites: Start off with couple of tinned fish dishes for a riff on “seacuterie” — maybe top-quality Italian tuna on a sliced steamed red potato with a vibrant herby sauce or smoked bluefish paté on toasts — and dinner will be more manageable. A stuffed mushroom with a touch of anchovy to round out the flavor is one way to a fish course with a very light touch.
Pasta will inevitably be part of this menu, because returning to time-honored classics is part of every family holiday. For me, my mother (who was neither Italian nor a passionate cook) always made sure the menu was red and green: steamed lobster with a spinach salad was her thing. This year I am making Marcella Hazan’s celebrated tomato sauce with butter for the red. It’s simple and utterly delicious.
Pairing that sauce with local scallops makes for a holiday-worthy dish. Besides, I never tire of the simple pleasure of searing scallops: hot pan, dry scallops, salt and pepper, and a bit of butter and oil. With some restraint while they sizzle in the pan (no fiddling!) the results are sea sweet, caramelized gems. I brown only one side, then turn them and turn off the heat so they don’t overcook.
Don’t skip using a splash of starchy pasta water to deglaze the scallop skillet to get all the yummy residual brown bits. Adding this to the tomato sauce transforms the dish with a marine essence that takes it to another level.
I like to use flat egg noodles, like tagliatelle, for their added richness, but dried spaghetti or fettuccini are fine, too. If this is a part of a feast, and depending on the other dishes you’re serving, a pound of dried pasta will feed six easily. For egg noodles, you need even less. (I always check the package for serving sizes as there are difference between brands and styles of pasta.)
Whether this is going to be part of a huge spread or a cozy fireside meal, these seared scallops tucked between ribbons of buttery tomato noodles with a handful of fresh herbs is pure comfort and joy.
SEARED SEA SCALLOP PASTA WITH TOMATO AND HERBS
Serves 4 to 6 depending on menu
For the sauce
1 onion, peeled and halved
1 28-oz. can San Marzano tomatoes
1 stick good quality unsalted butter, quartered
Kosher or sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the scallops
1 lb. dried fettuccini or 8-12 oz. dried egg noodles such as tagliatelle
1 lb. sea scallops, the side muscle removed
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 Tbsp. each olive oil and butter
¾ to 1 cup mixed fresh herbs, such as roughly chopped flat parsley, torn basil, some snipped chives, and tarragon
- Make the sauce: Put the onion and tomatoes in a saucepan with the butter. Rinse the can with a splash of water and add to the pan. Poke the whole tomatoes with a knife or fork to release their juices. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat to melt the butter, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, stir lightly. With the heat as low as it goes, let simmer, swirling the pan every now and then, for about 50 minutes. By the end the butter may float on the top. No worries — just stir it in. Remove and discard the onion. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside until ready to serve.
- When ready to serve, bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat and salt it generously. Drop in the pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente according to package instructions — the timing depends on what pasta you are using; egg noodles tend to cook quicker than standard dry pastas. Drain the pasta, reserving about ½ cup of the pasta water.
- Meanwhile, warm a large skillet (not nonstick) over medium-high heat. Season the scallops with salt and pepper. Add a swirl of oil to the pan, and then nuggets of butter. Place the scallops in the pan and cook without moving them until they’re golden brown. This can take 2 to 5 minutes depending on the size of the scallops. You can shake the pan a bit to see if they are sticking, but just be patient. Turn the scallops over and turn the burner off. There is plenty of residual heat in the pan to finish them in just another half minute or so. Transfer the scallops to a plate and set it aside, keeping it warm.
- Add pasta water to the scallop pan and use a wooden spoon to scrape up the browned bits. Stir in the tomato sauce and then the pasta. Toss to combine evenly and adjust the consistency with more pasta water if needed. Add the scallops and some of the herbs and toss. Serve family style or divide between plates and scatter the rest of the herbs on top.
Small Plates That Add Up to a Seafood Feast
From the Indie food writers
Top quality tuna or another tinned delicacy inspired by Stephen Orr’s road trip to Portugalia. (“A Portuguese Port of Call in Fall River,” May 9, 2024)
Thin slices of gravlax, home cured with lemon, mint, and gin, the way Mac Hay does it. (“Gravlax With Lemon, Mint, and Gin,” Dec. 10, 2020)
Refreshing, make-ahead pickled oysters with thanks to Edouard Fontenot’s southern upbringing. (“Cocktail Hour for a Lazy Summer. Day,” July 3, 2024)
And in case you need them, shucking tips from Lili Hay. (“Six Tips From Behind the Raw Bar,” Oct. 13, 2022)
Shards of bluefish, smoked during the summer the way Jim Gilbert taught us. (“The Art of Smoking Summer Fish,” Aug. 24, 2023)
The gift of a little bowl of Katherine Alford’s preserved lemon mussels. (“A Gift of Preserved Lemons Awakens a Mussel Memory,” Aug. 4, 2022)
A hot mug of Rebecca Orchant’s rule-breaking, heart-changing oyster stew. (“Something New for Our Oyster Stew,” Oct. 17, 2024)
The simplest possible flounder filets, pan-fried golden brown the way Robert Kuttner does them. (“Pan-Fried Flounder With Capers and Lemon, Maybe,” Sept. 14, 2023)
And on just about any of this: a drizzle of the green sauce Katherine Alford usually serves on whole roasted black sea bass. (“The Elemental Elegance of Whole Roasted Fish,” July 11, 2024)
