The four weeks before Christmas are of part of the Advent season and it was a time of reflection and fasting. Christmas Eve was a time of abstaining from meat and thus fish was served. Especially in southern Italy, the meal evolved into a grand dinner with a tradition of serving seven different types of fish dishes. Many homes got around this by making variations of a fish soup called cioppino or brodetto, in which seven, or less, types of fish or crustaceans were served in one pot!

Check on the internet for information about la Festa dei Sette Pesci, and try one of the recipes……it will be fun to try some of these traditional dishes.