Name: Seafood Salad Marinated for Christmas Eve!
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 22 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Italian Seafood
Ingredients: Juice 2 to 3 lemons, or more to taste; 5 ounces pimento martini olives-rinsed, chopped; 1/4 cup fresh parsley- chopped; 4 garlic cloves - thinly sliced; 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil; 2 Tbsp. white balsamic vinegar; 3 stalks of celery - sliced; One pinch (or more) of crushed red pepper flakes; 1 tsp. sea salt; ground black pepper to taste; 2 to 3 pounds small squid bodies (calamari) - already cleaned; 1 pound shrimp- cleaned, deveined- cut in halves

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Seafood Salad Marinated for Christmas Eve. Our Seafood Salad is marinated for days before being served, and it has been our holiday tradition as the first course on Christmas Eve. For as long as we can remember, Mom has spent days in the kitchen preparing her menu for Christmas Eve dinner. But we made a simple version of her salad, which is divine!

A silver bowl filled with a seafood salad mixed with chopped celery, olives, shrimps, and calamari.

Tell Us about the Seafood Salad Marinated for Christmas Eve

Italian seafood salad is a traditional dish served on Christmas Eve in the coastal southern regions of Italy. It was commonly known as a peasant dish because all the ingredients were inexpensive. And, our mom would always make the traditional seafood salad, which consisted of five (and sometimes even seven) different types of fish. It was and still is today, so amazingly delicious! …But for us, it’s too much work!

So today, we’re excited to show you how to make a “simpler version” of her seafood salad, and it is made with a medley of two types of fish: squid (also known as calamari) and shrimp. The fish is then marinated with green olives, parsley, garlic, and celery in a lemon vinaigrette. This seafood salad is also commonly known as “Frutta di Mare.” …If you are a Seafood LOVER… you’ll love this one!

An Old Holiday Tradition…

Marinated Seafood Salad is always served as our first course during our Christmas Eve dinner, known as the Feast of Seven Fishes!

This has been and still is today, a southern Italian Christmas tradition, where we spend weeks of preparation and set the stage for “La Vigilia,” Christmas Eve, celebrating the birth of Jesus! The tradition of “La Vigilia” is all about the “feast of seven fishes,” serving seven types of seafood.

In Italy, it is common to make seven fish dishes because they represent the seven sacraments according to the Roman Catholic church, whereas in other traditions, the seven courses represent the last week of Advent.

A bowl of seafood salad, tossed with chopped celery, shrimps, olives and calamari.

Our mom’s seafood salad is packed with flavors, and it is very light, high in protein, and low in calories, and fat! It is the ultimate seafood salad EVER! ….and oh so flavorful!

When it comes to the holidays, you could say we are hopeless sentimentalists.

Although our mom would not approve of reducing her recipe, shh… we prefer not to tell her. She makes this holiday traditional “Frutta di mare” every year on Christmas Eve.

But her recipe was a lot of work because she had to cook each fish separately before assembling them. This is a seafood dish she would normally prepare three days before serving.

And, this Seafood Salad Marinated is the first and one of the seven seafood dishes we always serve on Christmas Eve. And it’s the most favorite!

What kinds of fish do we need for this recipe?

We only wanted to make this seafood salad not only easier but also economical. For this seafood salad recipe, you will only need two types of seafood: calamari and shrimp.

Ingredients Needed for our Seafood Salad:

For our seafood salad marinated for Christmas Eve, you will need the following ingredients:

Calamari – you will need about 2 -3 pounds of small squid bodies (calamari) – already cleaned and sliced into thin rings (see our notes and photos below).
Shrimp – and you will need about 1 pound of shrimp – already cleaned and deveined.
Lemons – Juice 2 to 3 lemons, or more to taste
Pimento Olives – 5 ounces pimento martini olives – rinsed, chopped
Fresh Parsley – 1/4 cup (up to 1/2 cup) fresh parsley – finely chopped
Garlic – 4 garlic cloves – thinly sliced
Extra Virgin Olive Oil – 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Vinegar – 2 Tbsp. white balsamic vinegar
Celery – 3 stalks of celery – sliced
Pepper Flakes – a pinch (up to 1/8 tsp.) of crushed red pepper flakes
Sea Salt – 1 tsp. sea salt
Black Pepper – ground black pepper to taste

How To Make Seafood Salad Marinated for Christmas Eve?

If this is your first time to making our seafood salad, no worries, it is relatively easy. First, gather all your ingredients. Plus, our full recipe card is located at the bottom of this page. But first, let’s go over the steps so you can understand what’s involved before you start.

1. First, PREPARE THE DRESSING: In a shallow bowl, combine all the dressing ingredients. Mix well and set aside.

2. Next, RINSE THE FISHES: Rinse the squid thoroughly in cold water. Remove and discard any plastic-like spine bone from the inside. Cut the bodies into 1/4 to 1/2-inch rings. Drain and set aside.

Then, rinse the shrimp under running cool water for a few minutes to clean and remove most of the iodine. Then drain the shrimp in a colander.

A bowl of raw calamari rings cleaned and sliced into 1/4 inches.

A bowl filled with cleaned and sliced raw calamari fish.

A colander filled with raw, cleaned shrimps.

3. In a large saucepan, bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Add some salt to the water. Add the shrimp and boil until they turn pink, about 1 to 2 minutes. Shrimp cook up quickly.

4. Using a slotted spoon, remove the shrimp and transfer them to a colander. Drain well and allow to cool. Cut each shrimp in half and transfer to a large mixing bowl. Set aside.

A silver mixing bowl filled with cooked shrimps.

5. Meantime, using the same pot with salted boiling water, add the squid rings to the boiling water and boil until tender, about 5 minutes, or less. NOTE: You must try one to tell if they are fully cooked and ready or not. The squid should be tender to the bite, not chewy. Remove and drain well.

6. Transfer the cooked squid into the bowl with the shrimp, add the lemon vinaigrette dressing, and toss together until well combined. Taste and season with some fresh cracked pepper, to taste.

7. Cover and allow it to marinate overnight in the refrigerator, turning the mixture occasionally. Seafood salad will stay freshly refrigerated for up to 3 days.

8. Before serving, allow the salad to come to room temperature. Transfer the seafood salad to a large serving platter and serve. Squeeze additional fresh lemon juice over the salad before serving to give it additional flavor. And, garnish with some fresh parsley on the side.

Serves 6 to 8

Recipe Tips…

Easier to Make It: This recipe calls for 2 types of fish, making it in less time.
It’s Budget Friendly: Our seafood salad is very easy to make and cost-effective! It’s only made with 2 kinds of fish (instead of 5 or 7). But you can add more if you like.
To Save Time: Also, when buying seafood, we highly recommend you purchase the “already cleaned” seafood at your local fish market. This way it will save you some time; cutting the time and the prep work in half!
Have Extras on Hand: Always have extra lemons and fresh parsley on hand. We usually add extra freshly squeezed lemon juice over the salad, just before we serve it, and garnish it with fresh parsley on the side.
Keep an Eye While Cooking: Be sure to keep an eye on the fish when cooking them, you don’t want them to be overcooked.
How To Serve It? We serve this seafood salad as the first course, and in a small appetizer-sized dish or a salad dish.

Make Ahead & Storing

You can store seafood salad in an air-tight container and keep it chilled in the refrigerator. It will stay fresh for up to 4 to 5 days, as long as it sits in the marinade. If you made this salad two days before serving, then we recommend, you have it for lunch or dinner within the next 3 days.

A Delicious First Course For Christmas Eve

If you plan, this is a wonderful seafood salad to make. It is such a delicious dish, and one of your family and friends will love you for it!

ENJOY!

More Italian Seafood Recipes

Are you cooking with us? If you make this delicious seafood salad marinated for Christmas, let us know and leave a comment with a star rating below! It helps everyone who reads them. Snap a photo and hashtag it on Pinterest; be sure to tag us @2sistersrecipes. We’d love to see what you cook!

Seafood Salad Marinated for Christmas Eve!

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 12 minutes

Total Time: 22 minutes

Seafood Salad, marinated days prior to being served, has been our holiday tradition as the first course served on Christmas Eve for as long as we can remember. Made with 2 kinds of seafood this dish is even easier, yet still amazingly delicious!

Ingredients

2 to 3 pounds small squid bodies (calamari) - already cleaned
1 pound shrimp- cleaned, deveined- cut in halves

The Dressing:

Juice 2 to 3 lemons, or more to taste
5 ounces pimento martini olives-rinsed, chopped
1/4 cup fresh parsley- chopped
4 garlic cloves - thinly sliced
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp. white balsamic vinegar
3 stalks of celery - sliced
One pinch (or more) of crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp. sea salt
ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

In a shallow bowl, combine all the dressing ingredients. Mix well and set aside.
Next, rinse the squid thoroughly in cold water. Remove and discard any plastic-like spine bone from the inside. Cut the bodies into 1/4 to 1/2-inch rings. Drain in a colander and set aside.
In a large saucepan, bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Add some salt to the water.
Add the shrimp and boil until they turn pink, about 2 to 3 minutes. Shrimp cooks up quickly.
Using a slotted spoon, remove the shrimp and transfer them to a colander to drain. Keep it in a colander and let it cool.
Cut each shrimp in half and transfer it to a large mixing bowl. Set aside.
In the meantimeusing the same pot with salted boiling water, add the squid rings to the boiling water and boil until tender, about 5 to 7 minutes. Try one ring, and see if they are cooked enough. The squid should be tender to the bite, not chewy.
Remove and drain well.
Transfer the cooked squid into the bowl with the shrimp, add the lemon vinaigrette dressing, and toss together until well combined. Add some fresh cracked pepper to taste.
Cover and allow it to marinate overnight in the refrigerator, turning the mixture occasionally. Seafood salad will stay freshly refrigerated for up to 3 days.
Before serving, allow the salad to come to room temperature. You may squeeze additional fresh lemon juice over the salad before serving.
Transfer the seafood salad to a large serving platter and serve.
Serves 6 to 8

Notes

Recipe Tips:

Easier to Make It: This recipe calls for 2 types of fish, making it in less time.
It's Budget Friendly: Our seafood salad is very easy to make and cost-effective! It's only made with 2 kinds of fish (instead of 5 or 7). But you can add more if you like.
To Save Time: Also, when buying seafood, we highly recommend you purchase the "already cleaned" seafood at your local fish market. This way, it will save you some time, cutting the time and the prep work in half!
Have Extras on Hand: Always have extra lemons and fresh parsley on hand. We usually add extra freshly squeezed lemon juice over the salad, just before we serve it, and garnish it with fresh parsley on the side.
Keep an Eye While Cooking: Be sure to keep an eye on the fish when cooking them, you don't want them to be overcooked.
How To Serve It? We serve this seafood salad as the first course, and in a small appetizer-sized dish or a salad dish.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 6 to 8 servings Serving Size: 1 serving
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 299Total Fat: 15.3gSaturated Fat: 2.6gCholesterol: 384mgSodium: 198mgCarbohydrates: 5.5gFiber: .2gSugar: .2gProtein: 30.9g

Happy and Healthy Cooking! 🙂

Thanks for stopping by!

xo anna and liz

Welcome! From Anna and Liz

We believe the kitchen is the center and the heart of the home. It is where we cook, eat, and unwind with family and friends, creating memorable traditions! Read more…

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