It can happen that you are forced to stay away, unfortunately sometimes even on Christmas Day, from the city of Naples and your family. I am writing this article for those who cannot see their families again and want to bring a little bit of Partenope back home. Let us remember together what Christmas days are like in Naples and not only at the table.

A typical Neapolitan Christmas

At Christmas, the streets of the city of Naples teeming with people and voices, queues are just about everywhere, and smiles too, all of which is already the norm but is greatly amplified by the joy of the Christmas holidays.

The best place to hear theChristmas atmosphere is definitely the old town, particularly the market: the savvy people go there days in advance to grab the best products, away from the holiday crowds.

Fishermen are the great heroes of the festival; in fact, they stay open all hours. Theirs are family businesses and they live the Christmas as a time when joy is accompanied by hard work. They indulge in the rare moments of peace, with an eye out for the eels that punctually try to sneak out of the tanks, a moment dedicated to tradition by eating the classic pizza with escarole. Unmissable, in anticipation of the abundant Christmas dinners, is in fact the presence of pizza at lunch. This like many of the traditions, is not followed by everyone: some prefer to keep light while waiting for the lavish evening meals.

Naples homes fill with the scents and sounds of Christmas

When you grew up in the South, in your childhood memories you have the image of these big tables, full of festive people, open to relatives but also to those passing through in their lives. Because at Christmas, you know, you open your hearts and wreath-decked doors to anyone who wants to bring joy.

Southerners, but in general all Italians, have always made thewelcome a boast, and the magic of the holidays makes it almost a duty.

The undisputed stars of the kitchens are usually the aunts who take turns hosting on December 24, 25 and 26. Busy and ready to churn out their best dishes, while husbands are sent on a mission for last-minute gifts or that forgotten ingredient that is absolutely necessary to make everything perfect. In some homes, the situation is reversed and it is the uncle chef, called only on the very big occasions to the stove, who is the master: no one would dare try to provide guests with the pale imitation of seafood paccheri that he makes.

When one is an adult, we leave behind gifts, poems and rewards for saying them, what remains imprinted, in addition to the protective feeling of being many in the same house, is that special scent created by the cooking done in abundance and at the same time of a lavish meal, a mixture of sweet and savory, fried and boiled, hot and cold.

The dinner on the 24th

Here are some of the recipes for traditional Neapolitan Christmas Eve dishes perfect for those who want to bring a little bit of Partenope to the table. Take a seat at the stove and let's start with the appetizers.

The appetizers

Classic Neapolitan fried foods and entrées such as the bruschetta. Widespread is theseafood salad, a warmed octopus dipped in a zest of lemon, garlic, parsley and oil, which is often accompanied by seaweed pizzas.

Seaweed pizzas

Ingredients of the seaweed pizzas (or seaweed fritters): 250gr flour, 200 ml water, 12gr brewer's yeast, 8gr salt, 40gr seaweed (to buy just go to your nearest fishmonger), seed oil for frying.

Place the flour in a bowl with the water in which you have already dissolved the yeast; it is recommended that you always put in a pinch of sugar, which helps the rising process. Then start kneading and add the salt. Knead the batter until it has a smooth consistency and let it rise for an hour. After rising, add the chopped seaweed. Now all that remains is to fry them!

Pour the batter by spoonfuls into boiling oil and fry them until golden brown, a couple of minutes should be enough. Once ready place them on a plate lined with paper towels and serve hot.

Seafood paccheri

To prepare the seafood paccheri you need: 500gr paccheri, 200gr squid, 200gr cuttlefish, 400gr clams, 400gr mussels, 200gr shrimp, 300gr zucchini, 800gr cherry tomatoes, 3 cloves of garlic, extra virgin olive oil to taste, salt and pepper to taste, white wine to taste.

Boil mussels and clams in a large pot to open, then strain and save the cooking water. In a frying pan, sauté the oil with minced garlic and cook the cuttlefish and squid that you have coarsely chopped. Sauté the thinly sliced zucchini with garlic, oil and parsley. When the squid are cooked, add the shrimp, chili, cherry tomatoes, and deglaze with white wine. Just before turning off the flame add the clams, mussels and zucchini diluting with the preserved cooking water.

Cook the paccheri in plenty of water, then season them with the seafood, and the paccheri will be ready to enjoy.

The eel

To cook the famous eel Christmas you will need 3 cloves of garlic, 5 bay leaves, 1 lemon, oil, salt, and pepper to taste.

It is recommended to buy it already cleaned, then wash it and cut it into pieces of about six centimeters. Arrange it in a baking dish, then whisk the lemon juice with 3 tablespoons of oil, chopped garlic and bay leaf, salt and pepper, sprinkle the eel with this emulsion and then bake in a medium oven for about 40 minutes.

The fried codfish

Another traditional Neapolitan fish second course is the fried codfish. Preparation is very simple, you will need 1 codfish, 400gr flour and 1l peanut oil.

Wash the cod and lay it on a layer of paper towels, then prepare flour in a bowl where as soon as it is drier you will dip the cod. Once breaded, put the oil on to heat and fry the cod over medium heat, turning it until golden brown.

The soup maritata

The ingredients of the minestrone soup are mascariello, pig's ear, lard, cabbage, escarole, torzelle, garlic, salt, cheese and bread.

Take the mascariello and pig's ear and cook it in a saucepan with water then cut it into small pieces and put it back into the broth along with the lard and garlic, which you have previously laced. Wash the vegetable and cook it, aside, add salt, afterwards put it into the broth and cook it, stirring it all together. Put stale bread on the plates and pour the soup on top with a little cacio cheese.

Reinforcement salad

Ingredients to make thereinforcement salad: 200gr olives, pitted white and black, 1 cauliflower, 70gr anchovies, 200gr pickles, salt, oil, red wine vinegar to taste.

Clean the cauliflower, cut it into chunks and heat it in water and salt for about 20 minutes until it is cooked but still crispy and toss it in a bowl with ice to stop the cooking. Once cooled put it in a large dish with the salt, oil, pickles, anchovies and olives; if you prepare it a few hours ahead it will taste even better.

Roccoco

To make the rococo you need these ingredients: ½ kg flour, ½ kg sugar, 300gr shelled almonds, the peel of one lemon grated, a sachet of cinnamon, salt, 5gr ammonium carbonate for cakes, 2 eggs of which one whole and one only the red, 1 sachet of vanillin.

Put the flour on a pastry board and make a hole in the center, then add the sugar and make the hole again, still adding the chopped almonds, grated lemon peel and a little more than half of the cinnamon packet, a pinch of salt and finally knead everything together. Add, if needed, a little warm water. After kneading well, add the 5gr of ammonium carbonate (leave some aside) and knead again. Once the dough is ready make many roccocos. Separately prepare a baking pan by spreading some lard on the bottom and, leaving some space between each one, arrange the roccocò in it. Beat the eggs in a bowl with the sachet of vanillin and pour the mixture over the roccocò, spreading it well with your hand: this will serve to make them shiny. Bake and let bake for about 40 minutes. Once the baking is finished let cool. For those who do not have very strong teeth it is recommended to soak the roccocò in a little egg marsala.

Struffoli

To make the struffoli you need these ingredients: 3 eggs, 50gr butter, 100gr sugar, a small glass of aniseed, a sachet of vanilla sugar, the grated peel of a lemon (or the grated peel of an orange) a little salt, a little baking soda, 400g flour, 250g honey.

Form a well with the flour, put in the whole eggs, butter, sugar, a small glass of aniseed, a packet of vanilla sugar, grated lemon (or orange) peel, a little salt, a pinch of baking soda and knead. Knead until the dough comes away from your hands; you can add a little more flour if needed. Form tubular sticks and cut them into very small pieces, fry them in hot oil until golden brown, lift them up and place them in a colander. When all the pieces have been fried, take a baking pan and put 4 or 5 tablespoons of sugar, let it melt a little over low heat, then add the struffoli and honey, turning for about ten minutes. Remove them from the pan and warmly arrange them on a plate. Decorate them with citron, candied fruit, diavolini, white and silver confetti.

Christmas mostaccioli

To make the Christmas mostaccioli Neapolitans you will need these ingredients: 1kg flour, 1kg sugar, 350gr roasted and chopped walnuts, 2 grated lemons, ½ sachet of cinnamon, a little salt, water to taste.

Mix all ingredients and knead with warm water. The rather soft dough does not need to be kneaded much; it is cut into small diamond shapes the thickness of your little finger. Mostaccioli are baked in a medium oven for about 15 minutes.

Also the nougat, usually bought at pastry shops, is never missing from the tables of Neapolitan families.

The raffle

At the end of the meal, or waiting for midnight, you cannot miss the bingo. Those who "pull" the numbers have an important task: they must know the grimace well and entertain guests by composing a story.

Numbers are marked with the rinds of clementines. Often, in fact, one of the guests will show up with a large basket of the season's fruit, all festively polished for the occasion.