A Christmas Day in Verona

Christmas Day in Verona is Built around one table, one dish, but most of, family. 

Shops are closed, streets empty, and families come together across generations for one shared purpose, a long lunch built around bollito misto

Mattina

The morning stays quiet. Coffee at home, espresso or moka, and a slice of pandoro dusted with icing sugar, soft, yellow, unmistakably Veronese.

There are no presents, in Verona, gifts belong to Santa Lucia.

Christmas morning is about readiness. Setting the table

 

Midday

Bollito misto, the heart of the day

Lunch begins between 12.30 and 1pm and unfolds slowly.

Families arrive in layers, coats are placed aside. Bottles are opened without announcement, the table is formal but lived in.

Bollito misto is not a recipe. A collection of cuts, each cooked gently and separately so nothing loses its integrity. Beef brisket, cow tongue, cotechino, sometimes chicken or veal. All simmered in clear, fragrant broth built from bones, vegetables, and patience.

The sauces matter as much as the meat. Salsa verde, mostarda and unmissable Pearà sauce. Bitter greens alongside. Wine stays local. Valpolicella first, Ripasso later, Amarone if the mood calls for it.

And while this is a Veronese Christmas, our tables this year are not only in Italy. Many of us will be celebrating in the UK, bringing Italian habits, recipes, and rhythms with us. Sharing them with British families we love, around tables that feel just as important.

Different dishes with the same intention.

Buon Natale to you all 

Ilaria and Family x