Family Lunch in Naples

As if we hadn’t eaten enough for Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas lunch, we headed to Naples on Santa Stefano (or Boxing Day) to have a lunch with my husband’s cousins.

I can barely recall the last time I was in Naples but trips here were only to visit family.  As such, I have never really seen Naples except for what I see on the trip to the house.  This time around it was the same.  A day trip where we left Rome early and then back that evening.

It was a cold morning and on the way to Naples, you could see snow-capped peaks and as it was the day after Christmas, the highways were relatively clear.  As we got to Naples early, we took a slight detour and headed to a pastry shop to get funghi al cioccolato.

Unfortunately, they only had the mini ones and we got that together with a sfogliatelle.  Both were really good! The funghi is basically a bigne filled with dark chocolate and dusted with cocoa powder and the sfogliatelle pastry was light and crisp.  Great start to our day in Naples!

While Naples has not been getting positive news coverage lately, I just can’t get over how wonderful it is to live in a city with the view of the sea. Lounging in the terrace of my cousin-in-law’s apartment and with a lovely view on a gorgeous day, it feels like a different world altogether. Not the Naples you hear in the news but it feels more like a vacation getaway.

Family Lunch in Naples: Lots of Food

If you thought we were obsessed with food, here in Naples, the family here take it to the next level.  When we arrived, the table was all set even with place cards which were a nice touch.  It took a while before everyone was present and with that, we started off with appetizers which included a torta salata (savory pie), taralli and olive.  Simple but tasty.

Then the serious dishes came out.  The version of this baked rice dish called Sartu Napoletano that we had was so tasty even though the ingredients were just peas,  a few tomatoes, meatballs, mozzarella and breadcrumbs.  You have just got to love Italian food – the perfect symphony  of simple ingredients which make them irresistible.

As the braised meat (brasato di manzo) was still cooking, we went ahead with the side dishes (contorni) first.  Not very traditional but it’s just an informal lunch.  For the side dishes, we had salad, several sauteed vegetables, carrots and mashed pototoes.  I don’t know what it is but everything we eat in Naples, even in the past, is always delicious.

When the side dishes were done, the stewed meat was ready. Most of us were full by then and had only a bite of it.  A real pity because it was so soft and the sauce was flavorful.  I would have asked for seconds but I was already eyeing the dessert.

They didn’t have struffoli which is a classic Christmas dessert from Naples but they made a lemon-cake in the shape of a Christmas tree, some chocolate covered spiced cookies called mostaccioli and a to-die for cassata they bought. The lemon cake was soft, fluffy and with the hint of lemon it was difficult to stop at one slice.  However, let me diverge for a minute to tell you about the cassata.

I was told that there is a bar near the harbor in Naples that sells this cassata which comes in every morning from Sicily with the ferry.  I am not a fan of super sweet desserts like cassata but this was not the case and you could taste the luscious ricotta filling.  Being curious, I found out the name of the pastry shop – Kreadoc and they produce a variety of Sicilian desserts.

In addition to this dessert, there was also some fruits and of course, dessert wines such as bracchetto and passito.  We definitely had a delicious and filling lunch and being with great company is even better.

If you think that our family eats too much, we probably do but I doubt we are the exception. I heard from friends yesterday and they too are suffering from 3 days of eating but again that’s how Christmas is celebrated in Italy.

How was your Christmas? Was there as much eating?