What to eat on Christmas Eve
Chefs from around Europe share their tips for a Christmas Eve feast, including sea bass in Spain, pickled herring in Sweden, oysters in France and whisky mac in the UK
來自歐洲各地的廚師分享他們的聖誕平安夜盛宴的技巧，包括西班牙鱸魚，瑞典的醃鯡魚，法國的牡蠣和英國的Mac威士忌
Dinner is served: what you might eat in Scandinavia on Christmas Eve. Photograph: Steve Skjold/Getty Images
晚餐供應時間：在斯堪的納維亞半島上的聖誕前夕你可能會吃甚麼。攝影：Steve Skjold/Getty Images
Dinner on Christmas Eve tends to be a culinary damp squib in the UK; the quiet before the gut-busting storm. There is no firm tradition to provide reassuring guidance and, in any case, all energy is focused on Christmas Day itself.
culinary [ˋkjulɪ͵nɛrɪ]烹飪的;烹飪用的; damp [dæmp] 有濕氣的; 潮濕的squib [skwɪb] 爆竹 嘲諷
在英國聖誕節前夕晚餐的烹飪往往是失望沮喪的;如一場腸道破壞風暴前的寧靜。沒有穩固的傳統提供放心的指導，所以在不管何種情況，所有的能量都集中在聖誕節本身。
Our European brethren, on the other hand, know how to enjoy the evening. For some, it is the main event, present-opening and all. Take Polish people, who start their feast when the first star appears in the sky, signifying the birth of Jesus. "Christmas Eve dinner is meat free," says Tadeusz
Dembinski, manager at Gessler at Daquise, which has fed expat Poles in London since 1947. At least 12 dishes are prepared, he says, always with a main course of fried carp.
然而另一方面，我們在歐洲的弟兄們確知道如何度過愉快的時光。對於一些人來說，這反而是慶祝聖誕來臨的開幕式和所有主要事件。目前，以波蘭人民來說，當象徵耶穌誕生的第一顆星星出現在天空，即開始他們的節日。塔德烏什· 格斯勒在Daquise的經理登賓斯基說： “聖誕大餐是無肉日”， 這位自1947年以來在倫敦流放的波蘭籍聯邦調查員。他說至少需準備12道菜，主菜總是一道煎鯉魚。
In Italy, too, meat is a no-no. The meal is often referred to as the feast of the seven fishes, although in triple-Michelin-starred chef Massimo Bottura's house they limit themselves to five fish dishes. Salt cod, for instance, steamed with capers, tomatoes, olives, oregano and olive oil; and smoked salmon crostini, with any leftovers tossed into spaghetti with clams, which, says Bottura, adds "that long, smoky finish". Soup is made from fishy trimmings and the main course is a large (you guessed it) fish, simply roasted.
在意大利也一樣，也是無肉烹調。這頓飯通常是指作為七魚盛宴，雖然米其林三星級Massimo Bottura廚師的房子，他們自己限制在五種魚類菜餚。如鹽漬鱈魚與酸豆，西紅柿，橄欖，牛至和橄欖油蒸煮;煙燻鮭魚crostini，任何殘羹剩菜剩菜與蛤蜊意大利麵料理， Bottura補充道：“經過久煙燻完成”。湯的主調是魚類製品，主菜是一個大的（你猜對了）魚，僅簡單地烤過。
A 2kg roast seabass, all crunchy with potatoes and garlic, is also on the menu at Spanish chef José Pizarro's Galician home. "My mum starts with ham, chorizo and black pudding," he says. The family then sit down for soup with savoury churros (flour and egg, deep fried), followed by langoustines and prawns. There's partridge, too, roasted in white wine and stock, with carrots, onions, garlic, bay and thyme, and dessert is turron (nougat). That's all very well, but what does Pizarro suggest we cook here, pre-blowout? A simple fish pie, he says, followed by tarta santiago (almond cake).
一個2千克烤鱸魚，充滿脆脆的土豆和大蒜，也是西班牙廚師何塞·皮薩羅José Pizarro的加利西亞語家香味菜單。“我媽媽則從火腿，香腸和黑布丁開始，”他說。他的家庭接著坐下來喝鹹味湯和吉拿棒（麵粉，雞蛋，油炸），其次是小龍蝦和蝦。鷓鴣，用白葡萄酒和以胡蘿蔔，洋蔥，大蒜，月桂，百里香填充物去烤，甜點是turron（果仁糖）。這一切都非常好，但到底皮薩羅建議我們在這裡做什麼當做盛宴前準備？他說，一個簡單的魚餡餅，隨後由tarta聖地亞哥（杏仁餅）。
ps: 聖地亞哥（聖雅各福群會）是西班牙的守護神，以他的榮譽為這個美味的杏仁餅被命名。
The Swedes serve about 70 items over five courses. "It's a really, big, long, dinner," says Nordic chef Magnus Nilssen. Preparations begin on the first Sunday of Advent for a feast of cold fish (think pickled herring and gravlax), cold cuts, lutfisk (white fish cured in lye), meatballs and other carnivorous delights, and about 15 sweet options, such as rice pudding and marzipan.
瑞典人會準備約70個項目超過五種課程。“這是一個真正的，大，長久的晚餐，” 北歐廚師馬格努斯Nilssen說：。準備工作開始的第一個星期日的來臨，冷魚的盛宴（想像醃鯡魚和鮭），冷盤，lutfisk（白色的魚在鹼液中治愈），肉丸和其他肉食美食，和約15甜選項，如八寶粥和杏仁。(碎杏仁製成的餅; 杏仁糖 )
PS: lutfisk是北歐國家的傳統菜餚。它是由歲的鱈魚乾（風乾的鮭魚）或乾燥/鹽漬鮭魚（klippfisk）和鹼液（LUT）。具凝膠狀的質地，有一個非常強烈的刺激性氣味。它的名字的字面意思是“鹼液魚。”
What does Nilssen suggest for those of us turkeying out the next day? "A big roast ham that everyone here does as a centrepiece, with red cabbage and brussels sprouts." Ham is seconded by both Delia Smith (blackened, with cumberland sauce) and Nigella Lawson (ginger glazed, with macaroni cheese) in their Christmas recipe books. This ensures, Lawson writes, that "there is cold ham to eat alongside cold turkey for the rest of the week".
Nilssen建議我們第二天除火雞外應準備甚麼？“一個大烤火腿可為每個在這裡的人作為一個核心，紅色捲心菜，抱子甘藍。” 火腿腸是Delia Smith (迪莉婭史密斯)（熏黑，與坎伯蘭醬）和Nigella Lawson（姜無神，通心粉奶酪）在他們的聖誕食譜裡的第二道必備佳餚。這將確保，勞森寫道，“剩下的一周有冷火腿旁和著冷火雞一起吃”。
To France, and Raymond Blanc's Christmas Eve meal is relatively modest: a picky dinner ahead of the following day's excesses, comprising "salads, oysters, snails, hams, local charcuterie, cheese and a clear chicken soup".
到了法國，Raymond Blanc 的聖誕平安夜餐是比較適中：挑剔的晚餐在興奮行為之前，包括沙拉，牡蠣，蝸牛，火腿，當地豬肉，奶酪和清雞湯“。
This informal grab-and-go approach is also championed by British chef Allegra McEvedy. "You want something that's ready whenever people finish wrapping presents," she advises. As an antidote to Christmas Day's "world of brown", McEvedy goes for colourful, healthy options. "Salads and soups are good," she says, suggesting a minestrone with broccoli, French beans and peas, topped with parmesan, or a spinach soup with creme fraiche. Spice is also good for offsetting the following day's traditional spread, so she makes Chinese-style sausage rolls with five spice and shrimp paste.
這種非正式的捉了就走方法也由英國廚師阿萊格拉McEvedy倡導。“當人們完成包裝禮物你想要的東西已經準備好，”她建議。作為聖誕節的“棕色世界”的解毒劑，McEvedy的豐富多彩是健康的選擇。“沙拉和湯都不錯，”她說，建議有球花甘藍的蔬菜濃湯，法式豆莢和豌豆，上灑滿巴馬乾酪和菠菜鮮奶油湯。香料對襯托第二天傳統菜餚上菜很不錯，所以她以五香料和蝦醬製作中國式香腸捲。
Finally, she says: "You have to have a whisky mac: whisky and Stone's ginger wine – it's essential after midnight mass." Here, McEvedy may have hit on a Christmas Eve tradition with serious potential to catch on.
最後，她說：“你必須有一個威士忌MAC：威士忌和Stone的薑酒 - 這是午夜彌撒後必要的飲品。” 在這裡，McEvedy可能就是聖誕前夕傳統潛在的流行熱。
