The Feast of Seven Fishes is a traditional dinner of seven different fish courses served on Christmas Eve. This tradition stems from Roman Catholic abstinence of eating meat and dairy products on the day before a feast day (in this case, Christmas Day!)
At Fine Food Specialist, we pride ourselves on our wide selection of high quality seafood, from our caviar range to our luxury lobster products. If you want to treat your loved ones to a Feast of Seven Fishes this year, look no further for inspiration! You can find seven of our favourite recipes from Drogo's Kitchen below.
Key Takeaways
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Christmas Eve is a time to eat seafood - rather than meat and dairy - in many Catholic homes, including Italian-American households and Eastern European Catholic households where they may eat thirteen different seafood courses! Christmas Day is considered a feast day and this abstinence is traditional on the eve of a feast day.
- Treat your loved ones to a Feast of Seven Fishes this Christmas with our luxurious seafood range.
- Try serving a mix of shellfish, fresh fish and cured fish for a variety of flavours and textures!
Small plates
1. Whipped Cod’s Roe with Fennel Pollen
Cod's roe is an underrated seafood delicacy. This smoked, whipped cod's roe dip is a perfect light starter to start your Feast of Seven Fishes! Just serve with seeded crackers.
2. Pan-fried Scallop with Celeriac Purée
Scallops are one of the nations favourite seafoods, and this recipe uses the highest quality Hokkaido Japanese scallop on top of a seasonal celeriac mash. This small plate is given additional depth of flavour with a generous grating of black truffle - a real Christmas Eve treat.
3. Oysters with Blood Orange and Ginger
Light and refreshing, these oysters will be a favourite at any dinner table. If you're really in the mood for celebrating this Christmas, this simple dish bursting with winter citrus flavour is the perfect place to start.
4. Spicy Obsiblue Prawn, Fennel and Grapefruit Crudo
Obsiblue prawns come from the lagoons of New Caledonia, and these special sashimi-grade prawns are found nowhere else on earth. The light flavours in this crudo complement rather than overwhelm the prawns, allowing the sweet flavour of their meat to shine.
Larger plates of luxurious seafood
5. Grilled Tiger Prawns with Seaweed Butter
Dripping in butter, these meaty grilled tiger prawns are wonderful for sharing. A real feast for the senses for your Feast of Seven Fishes.
6. Sea Urchin Linguine
Here's a simple dish that is bursting with umami flavour. Pasta is traditionally served at a Feast of Seven Fishes, and this linguine relies on our premium sea urchin roe for its briny, rich and intense flavour.
7. Zesty Fregola with Clams
Another pasta dish to celebrate at Christmas - this fregola (a tiny pasta shape similar to giant cous cous) is herby, zesty and spicy. We've used salami in this recipe, but you can leave this out if you want to stay traditional and only eat fish! Our high quality palourdes/clams are what really make this dish sing.
Seafood feast FAQs
What is a Feast of Seven Fishes?
This tradition involves a dinner of seven different fish courses served on Christmas Eve. You can purchase the highest quality seafood from Fine Food Specialist to wow your guests if you host your own this year!
What should I serve in a seafood feast?
Pasta is very synonymous with seafood and light pastas where the flavour of the sea can sing are ideal. For lighter small plates try fresh oysters, acidic crudo and ceviche, and easy fish dips made from briny roe.
