Italians’ Christmas Menu among new ideas and tradition

If you are curious to know what Italians will cook for their families and friends during Christmas holidays, the Italian daily Corriere della Sera has recently published a list of 30 recipes characterizing the "Italian Christmas Menu".

Gorgonzola Risotto and Linguine with clams are two classics Italians never get tired of, along with Ziti alla Genovese standing out for their intense taste given by the meat and mixed vegetable slowly cooked in white wine.

Those who are looking for something more exotic could opt for a mussels couscous with saffron or directly skipping the first course, substituting it with special bread, like the Naan, the flavourful Indian one.

As second course, some useful suggestions were given with Alici in tortiera (Anchovies baked pie), orangeroasted duck, porkroasted thighs slowly cooked with white beer or a fresh salad with king prawns, mango and Thai sauce. The latter can be prepared using oriental ingredients, which are now becoming easily found in the Bel Paese as well. For instance, ginger and coriander could actually be considered as part of Italian cuisine nowadays.

Fanciful side dishes are Booklet Aubergines (crumbed and filled in with ham and mozzarella), stir-fried red cabbage with green apples and walnuts, beetroots salad with radicchio and endive. Furthermore, potatoes au gratin and baked mixed vegetables are something we should never miss on our party tables. In fact, they are light, easy to cook and mostly liked by adults and children.

The rich buffet can be concluded by a number of desserts. The first option could be a coffee crème caramel or an extravagant mono-portion orange and dark chocolate cake flavoured with rum. An everlasting classic is the Sicilian Cassata or a traditional Panettone served with some mascarpone cream. Babà with cream should also be kept into consideration as an Italian specialty. Finally, those who wish to go easier and faster could opt for a Cinnamon Apple Strudel or for some Baked Apples to be served hot with blueberries marmalade and sour cream.

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