Every year on Christmas Eve, Italians around the world gather at the table for an elaborate seafood dinner called the Feast of the Seven Fishes. Though the meal often includes a parade of classic dishes like salt cod (baccalà), seafood salad (insalata di mare), fried smelts, and spaghetti with clam sauce, a simpler menu could feature cold, briny oysters on the half-shell followed by a boldly seasoned seafood stew of any provenance. The beauty of the dish is its versatility: just add green olives and cumin for a Moroccan-style dish, potatoes and chorizo for Portuguese flavors, coconut milk and cilantro for a taste of the Caribbean, or, of course, tomatoes and red wine for a more traditional Italian dish.
