In Naples there is only one way to celebrate the night of December XNUMX: to get together with the family and complete the table and the heart with regional specialties.
A Nápoles there are those on the day of Christmas Eve they prowl the city to exchange wishes with friends or to acquire the last gifts to put under the tree. In one hand the shopping bags, in the other a pizza purse or a pasta omelette that will satisfy your appetite while waiting for the legendary dinner time.
In Naples, therefore, there are those who, on the twenty-fourth of December, spend the whole day cooking for the whole family, due to the fact that the New Year's Eve Menu It is the most essential of the holidays and must be carefully prepared.
What did you eat in Campania the day before? Tradition states that the menu is fish-based, while meat is going to be the star of the Christmas lunch. A well-rooted custom in time, bearing in mind that the Neapolitan chef and writer Ippolito Cavalcanti, Duke of Buonvicino, already talked about it in his renowned "Theoretical and practical treatise on cooking" published in XNUMX.
«For Christmas Eve, there are warts cooked with brackish anchovies, noodles with breadcrumbs and clams or even sautéed with brackish anchovies, fried eels, roasted lobsters in lemon juice and oysters., Cassuola de calamarielli and seccettelle, pasticcio di pesce, shrub of capitone and struffoli ”.
Nowadays, things have not changed much: broccoli (not the ones generally found in the rest of Italy), clam noodles, capitone and struffoli are staples in the city. New Year's Eve menu.
Neapolitan menu for Christmas Eve: appetizers
The snack is the most creative moment of the dinner, but the dances can only be opened with one of the most popular Neapolitan recipes: the Escrole's Pizza with its tasty garnish of olives, anchovies, pine nuts and raisins.
There are also attractant marinated salmon or anchovies and the typical Pulp Salad.
Neapolitan menu for New Year's Eve: starters
There is no doubt about the first course, on the twenty-fourth of December they are eaten Spaghetti with Clams. At most, one can discuss how to make spaghetti with clams: someone prefers them white, someone red or "macchiato", with some tomatoes here and there. Fortunately, the spirit of the holidays will mitigate any controversy in this regard.
Neapolitan menu for New Year's Eve: seconds
We move on to the second, or rather to the seconds. They usually prepare sea bass and sea bream cooked in aluminum foil or in boiled water, or fried with garlic, cherry tomatoes, white wine and parsley.
Immediately after frying time: at will there may be a Fried squid - rigorously done at the moment so as not to lose when crunching -, more undoubtedly the fried cod in paste (with what remains, the zeppolinas are prepared).
In accompaniment capital city fried or well cooked, considered a true lucky charm for the new year.
Neapolitan menu for Christmas Eve: garnishes
According to tradition, there are only 2 side dishes.
First of all, the renowned invigorating salad with boiled cabbage, anchovies, olives and papaccelle (a unique type of sweet pepper).
Then the call Christmas broccoli, totally different from traditional broccoli and considerably more akin to Neapolitan broccoli. Also known as vruoccole 'and frnnna and very widespread primarily in Agro Nocerino-Sarnese, they are composed of leaves and small green inflorescences.
How are they prepared? After cleaning and blanching, they are sautéed in a frying pan with garlic, oil and chilli and served with a touch of lemon.
Neapolitan menu for New Year's Eve: sweets
Is there still room for dessert? In front of the usual Neapolitan sweets, surely you will be able to find them abundantly.
But first there is o 'fun: plurality of nuts, such as Hazelnut, pistachios, dried figs, nights mi Almonds, whose skins (like those of tangerines) are used to mark numbers on bingo cards. A bit of fun after spending a lot of time in the kitchen waiting to unwrap the presents at the edge of midnight.
Finally, the plurality of cakes, who undoubtedly sees these exquisite honey covered fried dough balls called struffoli. But be careful not to get overwhelmed by addiction to struffoli, because it is also the time to rococo, rafiuoli (akin to cassatin), gods susamielli and the gods mostacciuoli. Here we tell you one by one in detail.
During the holidays, many also choose the Neapolitan cassata, different from Sicilian in the mixture and because of the ricotta used, which in the Neapolitan version is made with cow's milk and not sheep's milk.
Before saying goodbye to loved ones, a visit from digestive and the distribution of the remains, which will travel from house to house at least until Beato Stefano.
