Il Natale in Altamura

Christmas varies tremendously from place to place in Italy, and almost every town has its traditions. As a general rule, especially in the south, the Christmas Eve dinner is fish-based, since Christmas Eve is a Vigil, and the Catholic Church frowns upon the consumption of meats on these occasions. On Christmas day, however, one usually finds meats -- boiled dishes, or perhaps succulent roasts. What you get will depend upon where you are, because what was available used to vary considerably from place to place, and even though modern transportation means one can find most everything every place, people are loath to tamper with menus they remember from their childhoods.

In the area around Altamura, a town in the mountainous highlands of Puglia above the instep of the Peninsular Boot, they say, "Quanne venue Natale for a fore u castagnére" -- Come Christmas, the Castagnaro stands outside, meaning that it's the time of year when those who harvest the chestnuts from the trees in the mountains come down into town to set up their braziers and stands, and lace the air with the aromas of roasting chestnuts.

Then there's the crèche, and the prayers of the children, the songs and rimes with which they greet the priest who comes to bless the home, write the women who assembled Altamura Antichi Sapori, a fascinating book on the foods and history of the town. The holiday's religious highlights are the Vigil and Midnight Mass, while the gastronomic highlights are the Christmas Eve dinner, which was invariably fish-based: Oysters and eel for the wealthy, or baccalà for the poor. In Altamura Christmas Day is celebrated with tender lamb and traditional desserts.

The best known are cartellate, very thin strips of dough that are fried and dipped in honey or vincotto, the region's traditional sweetener, which was made by cooking down must or figs until they became a syrup akin to molasses. Vincotto also sweetens mesquìttele, scenecchiùtt'le, and mustazzère, and all are still made in the homes of Altamura, though one can now find industrial versions of them too. The only sweets to have escape industrialization are pettole, also called p'ttelècchje, whose aromas still mean Christmas for families: They're bits of over-risen bread dough that are tossed into hot oil, where they blow up like tasty balloons to be eaten piping hot. Sometimes they have in their midst a bit of anchovy or salted ricotta to add zest, but they're in any case simple and intoxicating.

Some Recipes

Christmas Eve

I Capunìdde ch'u Baccalà
A tasty baccalà sauce for pasta on Christmas Eve

Capitone Arrosto
Roast Eel, the main dish in the Christmas Eve dinner of the well-to-do in Altamura

Baccalà Indorato e Fritto
Simple fried baccalà is very tasty

Christmas Day

I Rechhietédde Ch'u Suche Russe
Orecchiette with a tasty, slow-cooking meat sauce

U Tembène o' Furne
A rich, meaty timballo to start out Christmas Dinner

L'Agnidde o' Furne
When the lamb is good, roasting it is extremely simple

Tasty Treats & Sweets

Pettole
The bread dough fritters given the poor by Baby Jesus

Cartellate
Classic Christmas fritters from Altamura

Sfogliata di Natale
A rich and somewhat exotic layered dessert

The authors of Altamura Antichi Sapori don't suggest any antipasti, nor do they suggest any side dishes to go with either the meats or the fish. The lack of antipasti is due to their having been introduced in the South only recently, whereas Antich Sapori deals with tradition. The absence of vegetables is on the other hand, I expect, due to Altamura's residents going out to their gardens and picking their side dishes. I'd expect to find a variety of cooked winter greens, as well as potatoes, peeled, cubed, and cooked in the roasting pan. Also mushrooms, and perhaps lampacioni, root vegetables typical of Puglia.

Thinking about visiting Puglia? It's quite beautiful, and rather exotic too. Discover the Murge.

Bon Natale!
Kyle Phillips