Alongside his family, Chef Pino spends Christmas Eve celebrating the Feast of the Seven Fishes.

Although the tradition’s exact origin remains unclear, evidence suggests that it began in Sicily, an island off Italy’s southern coast, according to the Eataly Magazine.

The tradition evolved into a distinct Italian-American celebration for Italian immigrants arriving into the United States during the late 1800s and early 1900s, as reported by Paesana. When celebrating, families typically gather to enjoy seven different seafood dishes, or one or two types of fish prepared in seven unique ways.

Most commonly, the array of fish includes scungilli and salted cod. However, Chef Pino’s family have adapted the recipes to suit their New England taste buds, using fish such as lobster, haddock, salmon, and shrimp.

To kick off the feast, Chef Pino’s family always begins with a Scampi Style Pasta. Traditionally made with shrimp, garlic, parsley, lemon, butter and olive oil, tossed with a string pasta like linguine or fettucine, the dish makes for a light, refreshing course.

This cherished dish has become a highlight of their holiday celebration, and Chef Pino has been kind enough to share the recipe so others can bring a taste of the Feast of the Seven Fishes into their own homes.

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Scampi Style Pasta

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons Butter

2 tablespoons Olive Oil

6 Cloves of Garlic sliced thin

2 pounds of Peeled Shrimp

1 Pound of String Pasta

1/2 cup chopped Parsley

2 lemons

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Salt and Pepper to taste

Procedure:

1.Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil

2. Place butter and oil in a very large sauté pan over medium heat
3. Add Garlic to sauté pan and cook until translucent
4. Add shrimp to the pan, and cook until they turn bright pink, moving them around to coat with the oil and garlic
5. Cook the pasta until tender in the boiling water. 
6. Remove the pasta from the water, and add to the sauté pan with the shrimp
7. Add the parsley, red pepper, salt and black pepper
8. Squeeze the lemons into the sauté pan
9. Add about 1/4 cup of the pasta cooking water to the sauté pan, and toss together until pasta and shrimp are well coated. 
10. Serve immediately garnished with additional lemon and parsley.