The hills of West Virginia are home to many unique cultures and activities.

Italian and Hungarian immigrants made their homes in the north-central part of the state — which is located between the two “fingers” of the state that stick out and hug two of Pennsylvania’s borders. The immigrants worked in the area’s many coal mines and brought their rich culinary traditions to the hills of Appalachia.

One of those culinary traditions is the Feast of the Seven Fishes. For almost 20 years, Fairmont has hosted a festival version of the Italian-American celebration. It was to be held this past weekend, but was cancelled due to a storm system that swept through that portion of the United States and destroyed parts of Kentucky.

The festival was inspired by a comic written by Fairmont native Bob Tinnell. The comic was turned into the 2018 comedic film, “Feast of the Seven Fishes.” It’s a slice-of-life story that follows a large Italian family on Christmas Eve as they prepare for the feast, reminisce about the past and seek love in the future. I haven’t watched it yet, but IMDb gives it a rating of 6.7 out of 10 stars.

The feast is typically celebrated on Christmas Eve, but no one knows why the dinner became popular among Italian immigrants.

According to Eataly.com, many Italians don’t know about the tradition or its origin, most likely due to Italy’s diverse culture.

Each of Italy’s 20 regions boosts a different culinary tradition for the cena della Vigilia, or Christmas Eve dinner. According to Eataly: “For example, families in Piemonte celebrate with agnolotti, fresh pasta filled with meat; in Roma, the tradition calls for minestra di pesce, fish-based soup; and lastly, in Sardegna, there’s no Christmas Eve dinner without malloreddus, small semolina gnocchi usually served in a sauce with tuna and fresh cherry tomatoes. Of course, for any Italian family, it wouldn’t be a Christmas feast without panettone and pandoro, the traditional fluffy cakes that adorn every table and are gifted with wishes of love and prosperity, and classic holiday desserts like torrone, hazelnut-studded chocolates, panforte and beyond.”

While my family isn’t Italian, we have used the Feast of the Seven Fishes as a way to introduce new foods to the family. We’ve also tried new ways of preparing food, like cod, that we eat on a regular basis.

For Feast of the Seven Fishes, typical “fishes” include salt cod, shellfish, eel, squid, conch meat and clams. Fried vegetables are also a popular accompaniment, so expect fried artichokes, pickled vegetables, fried squash blossoms and other treats.

The tradition of eating fish on Christmas Eve dates from the Roman Catholic custom of abstinence from meat and dairy products on the eve of certain holidays, such as Christmas.

The number seven is rooted back in ancient times. It can be connected to multiple Catholic symbols such as the seven sacraments, the days of the creation, as well as the deadly sins.

The “official” Feast of the Seven Fishes first emerged in the early 1900s. Italian-American families rekindled the old country’s Christmas Eve tradition by preparing a seven-course seafood meal that both made them feel close to their homes, while celebrating the sea, a major connection in Italy.

Here we’ll look at two recipes that hopefully will get you inspired to explore other holiday food traditions — seafood pasta (paccheri con sugo de mare) and baked fish (pesce al forno). The seafood pasta dish has a lot of steps, but is worth trying.

We hope you enjoy your adventure and the rest of 2021.

PACCHERI CON SUGO DEL MARE (PASTA WITH SEAFOOD SAUCE)

Ingredients
1 pound paccheri or other wide noodle
3 cups extra virgin olive oil
8 ounces tuna belly
20 medium shrimp, shelled and deveined
6 calamari
20 clams
½ cup white wine
20 mussels
1 clove garlic
1 pinch chili flakes
2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Zest of 1 lemon
Fine sea salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions
■ In a small saucepan, combine the lemon zest and extra virgin olive oil. Place the pan over low heat and, using a thermometer, bring the olive oil to about 130 degrees Fahrenheit.
■ Season the tuna with salt and pepper, add it to the saucepan, and poach the tuna in the olive oil until it is medium-rare, about 7 minutes. Remove the tuna from the oil and set it aside. Strain the oil and discard the lemon zest, and reserve the oil. (You won’t use all of it in this recipe, but it can be used in other dishes.)
■ Chop the shrimp into 1/4-inch pieces. Cut the calamari bodies into 1/8-inch slices and cut the tentacles in half the long way. Thinly slice the poached tuna.
■ Place the clams in a medium pot, set over medium heat. Add the wine, and cover it with a tight-fitting lid. As the clams open, remove them from the pot. When all the clams have opened (discard any that do not open), add the mussels to the pot. Add the wine, and cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid. Again, remove mussels from the pot as they open. Strain any liquid in the bottom of the pot through a coffee filter or cheesecloth and set aside in a bowl. Remove the clams and mussels from their shells and set them aside in the bowl with the strained liquid.
■ Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the pasta. When the water is boiling, salt it and add the pasta. Cook until the pasta is al dente.
■ In the meantime, as the pasta cooks, heat about 3 tablespoons of the extra virgin olive oil from poaching the tuna in a large separate pan. Crush the garlic clove and add it to the pan with the chili flakes. Sauté until the garlic is golden, then remove and discard the garlic.
■ Add the shrimp and calamari to the pan and toss until they are cooked, about 1 minute, then add the sliced tuna.
■ When the pasta is cooked, drain it in a colander. Transfer it immediately to the pan with the fish. Toss a few times, then add the clams and mussels and their liquid. Toss the mixture vigorously over medium heat until the pasta and seafood are combined well, about 1 minute. Drizzle the pasta with a generous amount of the extra virgin olive oil from poaching the tuna, sprinkle on the parsley, and serve immediately.

PESCE AL FORNO (BAKED FISH)
Yield: 4 Servings

Ingredients
4 (6-ounce) cod filets
1/4 cup finely ground pecans
1/4 cup crushed tomato and basil flavored crackers
2 crushed garlic cloves
3 tablespoon olive oil
lemon wedges
fresh parsley, chopped for garnish
freshly ground salt and black pepper

Directions
■ Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
■ In a small bowl, combine extra virgin olive oil and crushed garlic. Season with pepper and salt.
■ On a plate, add ground pecans and finely crushed tomato and basil crackers. Mix well.
■ Spread and spoon garlic olive oil mixture onto cod filets. Then dredge with the pecans and cracker mixture until both sides are well coated.
■ Bake for 6-8 minutes until crust is golden brown and fish is cooked. Serve with lemon wedges.
Note: You can substitute cod with fresh salmon, halibut, or any other flaky fish.

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