The Calabrian Menu of Christmas Past!
Here's what we're eating this holiday. Holiday shipping cutoff is upon us.
Ciao! There are so many lovely new readers here. Thank you so much for subscribing. We are Skyler and Giuseppe, founders of EXAU, soon to be authors, and extreme pasta eaters (and makers).
You might be here because you found me, Skyler, on Tiktok or Instagram, I’m the main author of these newsletters and love writing them and sharing delicious and inspiring southern Italian things with you. Let’s dive in…
The EXAU Holiday Gift Guide
Giuseppe and I put together a holiday gift guide including products, brands, or books we know and love. We highlighted many small, woman-owned, Black-owned, Queer-owned, and family-owned businesses! We are regularly updating the gift guide. Click the post below to take a look. Happy holiday shopping : )
Christmas (Recommended) Shipping Cutoffs
US Ground shipping: Thursday, December 15 (that’s in 2 days!)
US Air shipping: Sunday, December 18
Canada shipping: Thursday, December 8
Orders placed after these days *can possibly* make it to the final destination before 12/25.
A Calabrian Christmas (Past) Menu
I really wanted to pull together an incredible Calabrian inspired Christmas menu with full recipes and tell you about all the delicious things we were going to make and eat over the holidays. But the truth is we’re heading to Giuseppe’s Zia’s house. And after the intensity that is Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Holiday for a small e-commerce food brand I cannot wait to go to someone else’s house, be bossed around their kitchen, and eat. I don’t want to think about putting together a menu!
But I thought it would be super fun is to revisit Christmas Pasts at Zia Im’s house. Giuseppe’s aunt is a spicy yet sweet older lady with a great sense of humor and an innate desire to shovel food onto your plate and send you home with a bag of groceries or a tray of eggplants or polpette (sometimes all three). Going to her house is so fun to visit. Just make sure you have time to sit down for a coffee and a chat.
Mini story: Two weeks ago she scolded me for walking a few blocks to her house because it was ~dark and late~, it was 5:00 pm.
She doesn’t have a super big kitchen yet somehow manages to pump out enough food for no less than 22 people in a measly 36 hours (with no mise en place! My Type A self could never). Let’s revisit Christmas Pasts at Zia’s house!
The Theme
On Christmas Day in Calabria, we always eat a large selection of typical Calabrian dishes with an emphasis on cheese, food sott’olio, beef, pork, and vegetables. A large dining room table is set for almost two dozen people (depending on the year). The main meal is lunch and we usually end up skipping dinner… you’ll see why.
Antipasti Calabresi
We start with an assortment of Calabrian cheeses such as pecorino calabrese, pecorino crotonese, and scamorza. There’s also other classic Italian cheese such as ricotta and parmigiano reggiano.
Lots of food sott’olio (food stored under oil). Calabrians can and do cure just about everything including olives (smashed and whole), eggplants, mushrooms, peppers, onions, and more.
Cured Calabrian specialties such as capicollo, soppressata, n’duja, and salsiccia (the cured type) are assorted on platters. There's also Sardella, AKA the Calabrian caviar, a paste made with icefish (they’re tiny, clear, and kind of creepy looking), and pepe rosso (sweet and spicy). It’s eaten mixed with extra virign olive oil and used as a spread.
Primo (first dish/pasta)
Pasta al Forno
A Calabrian specialty, a single tray weighs no less than 50lb (kidding, kind of). Large, short pasta such as rigatoni mixed with tomato sauce, tiny meatballs, fried eggplant, salsiccia, hardboiled eggs, provola, and parmigiano reggiano. It’s one of Zia’s signature dishes and she makes it every year.
Secondi (second dish/main)
Secondi definitely take center stage on Christmas day, and there are an abundance of options!
Pollo Arrosto (roast chicken)
Whole chicken baked in the oven with rosemary and potatoes.
Fettine Impanate (beef cutlet)
A thin cut of beef (1/8” thick), dipped in egg yolk then coated in seasoned breadcrumbs and fried until crisp and delicious. Southern Italians are big on frying so you can find some version of fried and crispy cutlets in most homes during the colder months. This is one of Giuseppe and I’s favorites!
Ragu di Carne
This dish reminds me of a stew. It starts with a soffrito then chunks of beef (think chuck roast) are added and slowly cooked in a tomato sauce for several hours. It’s served on a plate and eaten with bread.
Roast Beef
Last year a roast beef showed up at the table! I was quite surprised and discovered roast beef is quite popular in Italy, however, they make different versions of it based on the region. Similar to the US, it’s typically a lean cut of meat baked in the oven with various seasonings. Giuseppe’s family serves it with a reduced sauce.
Polpette or Vrasciole (meatballs)
Fried of course. Usually shaped into the form of a mini log or frisbee, vrasciole are typical fried Calabrian meatballs and are to die for. Here’s the recipe.
Side note: this recipe can also be used to make round meatballs for soups and red sauces.
Fireplace Roasted Salsiccia (spiced Calabrian sausage)
In Calabria salsiccia refers to the classic spiced Calabrian pork sausage. Ground pork and lard are seasoned with aromatics including pepe rosso (red pepper), both sweet and spicy, fennel seeds, and salt. Each producer has their own special recipe. The pork is then piped into casings. You’ll find salsiccia cooked over the grill, chopped into large pieces and baked, or removed from the casing to make a sauce.
For Christmas it’s usually cooked in the fireplace with foil. Smokey, slightly charred on the bottom (hello crunch), and still juicy from sitting in a bit of liquidated fat.
BTW, we made a pretty epic Salsiccia Stuffing for Thanksgiving….
Salsiccia e Cime di Rapa (sausage and broccoli rab)
Salsiccia chopped into thirds cooked up nice. Then served with Cime di Rapa. The two are baked together in the oven so the flavors can meld. And served piping hot!
Lumache (snails)
A not-so-known fact about Calabria, they absolutely love snails, both land and sea. They’re usually made into a spicy tomato sauce, called virdeddri, and served in a shallow bowl with a large piece of bread to sop up the sauce and fare la scarpetta.
Contorni (sides)
Lampascioni
Similar to a small onion, they’re the bulbs of wild tassel hyacinths. Giuseppe’s aunt boils them, then drains them of water, and fries them in seasoned oil.
Fritelle di Zucca (pumpkin fritters) and Fritelle di Cipolla (onion fritters)
These are one of my all time favorites and similar to our beloved frittelle di zucchine. Giuseppe’s Zia typically makes two batches, one made with pumpkin and another with sweet red onions (cipolla di tropea) including the long green stems!
In North America you can make these with spring onions that have both the bulb and the stem still in tact (but I’ve only seen spring onions in well… the spring). Alternatively, you can recreate the recipe using green onions instead of zucchine but skip the salting part : ) And keep the green onions in longer pieces (2” should be good).
Patate e Peperoni (potatoes with peppers)
A classic Calabrese dish popular among both the young and old! Delicious patate della Sila (potatoes from Sila) and sweet peppers (or bell peppers) fried in lots of extra virgin olive oil. We eat this year round, here’s the recipe for patate e peperoni so you can make this at home : )
Cicoria (chicory greens)
With green leafy vegetable season in full swing cicoria is popping up regularly on our table! How this dish is prepared: boiled cicoria, drained of water, then sauteed in olive oil, garlic, and peperoncino.
Insalata Mista (lettuce)
Yes, there’s salad. Usually made with a mix of bitter green such as radicchio, arugola, and/or romain. Sometimes with a bit of winter citrus and onion. A simple dressing of extra virgin olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper.
In our family, the salad is placed on the table with the contorni instead of serving it at the end of the meal, when it’s typically served in classic Italian dining.
Frutta
During Italian meals fresh fruit is always served towards the end of the meal but before the sweets. At Christmas all cold weather fruit is fair game, there’s an assortment of fresh oranges, clementines, and/or mandarins. Also, fresh walnuts from campagna (our countryside), chestnuts, almonds, or pistachios. The best part is watching as guests crack two walnuts at the same time by smashing the shells together in their palms and squeezing tightly. Sometimes nothing happens as walnuts from campagna have extremely tough exteriors that are even tough for nutcrackers!
Dolci
At Christmas you’ll usually find Pitta ’Nchiusa, an assortment of small pastries, and one or two cakes at the table. Pitta ’Nchiusa kind of reminds me of cinnamon rolls, but with a crunchy dough. It contains raisins, cinnamon, sugar, nuts, and heaps of olive oil.
But I have to come clean, I’m not a huge fan of Italian, but especially Calabrian, desserts. And over the years I’ve skipped almost all sweets at family meals, with the exception of tiramisu or gelato. What can I say? I’m a diehard chocolate chip cookie, brownie, apple pie (crostata who?), and two layer cake kind of girl.
I adore American sweets not only for the taste but the texture (soft and chewy). Sticky and/or crunchy desserts aren’t my favorite and Calabria makes a lot of those. But I do enjoy making Calabrian sweets!
Amari Calabresi
We always finish the meal with a digestivo, which Italians believe help with digestion, and reach for Amari Calabresi. Some of our favorites are Amaro del Capo, Jefferson, Amaro Silano, Kephas, and Rupes. Many of these are available in the US : ). And don’t forget the old school homemade grappa, 60* proof!
A Walk and a Nap
By the time lunch is done it’s well past 4pm. We head home for a nap and later talk a nice long walk around town. And you see this is why we skip dinner : )
Olive Oil Memberships Are Back!
And yes they are giftable!! We are so excited to welcome new members and for some exciting new offers.
How the EXAU Olive Oil Club works…
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Excelsis
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Altiorem
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That’s all for now! Make sure you place any last orders for olive oil in ASAP so we can get you taken care of. Until next time.
-Skyler & Giuseppe
P.S. Did you know we are now stocked on the shelves at Crate & Barrel? Yes, like THE CRATE & BARREL. If you see us in person can you please snap a pic and send it to us? You can find us hello@exauoliveoil.com and on Instagram!
I loved this peak into the holidays!