Christmas Dinner: Easy & Delicious From Italy

By Dec 6, 2019 Celebration

Looking for delicious Christmas recipes? Something savoury to enjoy between all the Christmas baking? We’ve got it.

The Italian Baccala Arracanato (really roll your r’s when you say it!) is probably one of the easiest and most delicious Christmas recipes in the world. This seasonal fish bake is the Hello Chef Gourmet recipe of the week. It’s the perfect opportunity to practice your Christmas Eve or Christmas Day dinner in advance (although this one hardly takes any practice at all).

The preparation of the Baccala Arracanato could not be any more straight forward. Simply take the cod fillet and place it in a greased roasting dish. Season the fish lightly with salt and pepper.

Then, mix the generous topping. In this recipe more is more, and the more the merrier. That said, it doesn’t take more than 3 minutes to combine the garlic, walnuts, parsley, bread crumbs, olives, capers, sultana raisins and pine nuts that you need to cover the fish and give it that special Christmassy coating. Finally, add the cherry tomatoes and drizzle everything generously with olive oil. Into the oven it goes!

About half an hour later when the fish is almost done (and the table is set) it’s time to quickly prepare the sage gnocchi to go along with the bake.

For the side, all you need to do is melt some butter in the pan and stir-fry the fresh sage leaves in it. Once the butter is infused with the aromatic sage, add the gnocchi and fry those soft little pillows until golden brown.

Then, quickly to the dinner table! The fish bake and the gnocchi are at their best when served immediately. Don’t forget a glass of your favourite white grape!

We hope that enjoying this meal feels like being in Italy for winter holidays. Take a look at how Olivia prepares this no-fuss Christmas dinner on our Youtube channel. You’ll find the recipe (for 2 people) below, otherwise click for the full recipe card.

Buon Appetito e Buon Natale!

The easiest way to a delicious Christmas dinner is here!

Italian Baccala Arracanato Christmas Cod with Sage Gnocchi

Serves 2

Cooking time 40 min

Ingredients:

Fish bake:

350 g cod fillet

0.25 tsp black pepper

250 g cherry tomatoes

2 garlic cloves

30 g walnuts

handful of fresh parsley

4 Tbsp panko bread crumbs

4 Tbsp pitted kalamata olives

1 Tbsp capers

4 Tbsp sultana raisins

2 Tbsp pine nuts

3 Tbsp olive oil

Gnocchi:

50 g salted butter

8 fresh sage leaves

200 g gnocchi

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan. Place the cod fillets into an oiled roasting dish. Pat the cod surface dry with kitchen paper. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Halve the cherry tomatoes. Peel and crush the garlic. Roughly chop the walnuts. Chop the fresh parsley. In a bowl, combine the panko bread crumbs, garlic, walnuts, chopped parsley, olives and capers with the raisins and pine nuts.

Pour the bread crumb mixture over the cod fillets. Top with the halved cherry tomatoes. Drizzle, generously, with olive oil. Bake in the oven for 30-35 min or until the cod is cooked through and the top is golden. If the dish starts to brown too quickly, cover loosely with a piece of foil.

Once almost ready to serve, heat a pan over a medium-low heat with the butter and sage leaves. Once the butter has melted, add the gnocchi and cook them in the sage butter for 3-4 min until browned.

Serve the Baccala Arracanato with the sage gnocchi.

Per serving:

Cal 792

Prot 43

Carb 70.4

Fat 37.8