Christmas lunch in France

What do you eat for Christmas lunch in France?

To find out, you first need to know how a French "standard" lunch is structured. It does not look like an Italian lunch, with first courses, seconds etc. but like entrée, plat et dessert, with any small additions or variations.

The entrée is the classic starter with salami, tarts, seafood but also mixed salad. The plat or plat principal is a single dish made of meat, eggs or fish with vegetables, potatoes and/or rice. Then, in every festive lunch you respect, you cannot miss a platform de fromages, a selection of French cheeses often accompanied by fresh bread and salad. Finally, the dessert It is not always a real dessert but, in a daily meal, a yogurt or fruit represent a great meal.

How is such a rich menu valued during the holidays?

Les entrées: seafood at will

In a decent Christmas lunch, particularly in France, there must be a platform of seafood and crustaceans. Who says France says fresh oysters, but also lupins, shrimps, gratin scallops (Coquilles de Saint Jacques) and blinis (a sort of small pancakes) with smoked salmon. The French at Christmas do not even give up Paté de foie gras, served with crostini, fruit and sauce chutney. Before the appetizer, it is traditional to enjoy an aperitif with tarts, salty and the inevitable champagne Icy.

Plat principal: roast reigns supreme

Unlike what happens in southern Italy, in France you tend to eat meat during the Christmas Eve dinner. Unless you're vegetarian, of course! The most traditional strong dish is the dinde aux marrons, Turkey filled with chestnuts and baked. Instead of turkey, on French tables you can also find roast chicken, goose (especially in Alsace), guinea fowl or veal, served with potatoes, vegetables and other tasty side dishes, including the Gratin dauphinois.

Dessert: bûche de Noel but not only

The most typical dessert of Christmas lunch in France remains the bûche de Noël in its infinite variations. The French also seem to appreciate the Italian specialties, especially the tiramisù and the Milanese panettone, very easy to find in supermarkets and boulangeries. I dessert traditional differences vary greatly depending on the region, as for stollen, German sweet spread also in Alsace, and the 13 Provence desserts.

All that remains is to solve the fateful dilemma: Christmas dinner or Christmas lunch? In France I'd say Vigilia (Reveillon), Although both celebrations are important. There are also several schools of thought on opening gifts: some open them after the Christmas Eve dinner, possibly after midnight Mass; others are waiting for Christmas morning with the little ones, waiting for the arrival of Père Noël; others discard them during the big lunch of the 25th, before a digestive walk through markets and boulevard Enlightened.

Also remember: on December 26th St. Stephen is not celebrated in France! No tortellini and noodles in broth, but you normally go to work, perhaps warming up the leftovers of the parties for lunch.

Merry Christmas, or better. Joyeux Noël!