Christmas Eve Fish Sauce

Sauce

• 1

  In a large Stock pot cover the bottom with olive oil and chopped garlic.

• 2

  Then add in chopped red peppers. Stir until peppers are soft.

• 3

  Add all seafood except crab spareribs. Saute for about 7 min.

• 4

  Add in 4 large cans of peeled tomatoes and 1 large can of tomato puree.

• 5

  Add a little salt pepper. Add in 1 whole peeled onion. The onion absorbs the bitterness of the tomatoes. Add the crab legs

• 6

  Cook on a low heat for about 2 hours.

The history of the tradition!

• 1

  The tradition of eating seafood on Christmas Eve dates from the medieval Roman Catholic tradition of abstinence—in this case, refraining from the consumption of meat or milk products—on Fridays and specific holy days. As no meat or butter could be used, observant Catholics would instead eat fish, typically fried in oil.

• 2

  There are many hypotheses for what the number “7” relates to, one being the number of Sacraments in the Roman Catholic Church. Another theory is that seven is a number representing perfection: the traditional Biblical number for divinity is three, and for Earth is four, and the combination of these numbers, seven, represents God on Earth, or Jesus Christ.

• 3

  The “Feast of the Seven Fishes” started in Italy. A dinner on Christmas Eve is celebrated with meals of fish and seafood, but there may be seven, eight, or even nine specific fishes that are considered traditional.