Episode 1 A Welsh-Italian Christmas with Michela Chiappa

How does your family celebrate a traditional Welsh Christmas?

Tinsel? Turkey?

Trifle? Sprouts?

You won't find many of those things in our house

as we do Christmas slightly differently.

My name is Michela Chiappa,

and I'm Welsh born, but Italian bred.

And I'm equally proud of both my cultures.

And so just like thousands of other Welsh Italians throughout Wales,

my family has taken traditions and recipes from both countries

to create a unique festive food fusion.

THEY SPEAK ITALIAN

From pasta to pears, leeks to laver bread,

I want to share with you a Welsh-Italian culinary mash up

to get your Christmas taste buds trembling

and maybe change what you put on this year's festive plate.

From Merthyr to Bangor, Aberystwyth to Newport,

I'm going to take you on a mouthwatering journey

in search of the perfect Welsh-Italian Christmas.

We got the computer! I told you, didn't I?

December 25, 1990.

Merthyr Tydfil.

So that's me, Michela,

in the Rupert the Bear cast off dressing down.

My baby sister, Romina, is struggling

to unwrap her very big Christmas present.

And middle sister Emi screams in delight.

I remember this Christmas really well,

because Emi and I got our very first computer.

A beast, almost as big as Romina's toy car,

which my Uncle Laz soon took over to play Space Invaders and Pong

for hours on end.

The gifts we were given that morning were probably no different to those

unwrapped by most Welsh families 26 years ago.

However, what unfolded over the rest of our Christmas Day,

the traditions, the get-togethers, the food was far from typical.

For the Chiappa clan,

the festivities began and ended on a single street in Merthyr,

Lower Thomas Street.

It still gets me every time I walk down this street.

I've not got any family left living here,

but it's just a really weird feeling,

because this is packed with history for me.

I was born here. I was born in that house up there, on the top floor.

That was my Nonna's house.

That was Uncle Tony with his family, five children.

Uncle Frank and Auntie Tina was this one here.

And Christmas Day was utter chaos.

The whole tribe, uncles, aunts, cousins, nephews, nieces

would gather together after church and roll en masse

from house to house.

It was chaos. Utter, utter chaos.

There were probably 25 of us,

maybe even 30 ranging from newborns, kids, grandparents, mums, dads.

This was before lunch started.

This was biscuits, nuts, cake, the typical Italian thing.

"You've got to have some. Have another coffee."

"I've just had one next door." "You've got to have another one."

Noise, noise, noise! And that was the start of Christmas.

Actually, it was just the beginning of a five-hour food festival,

platters of cured meats, cheeses, smoked salmon,

snails for my uncle Laz.

Eugh!

Anolini in brodo, food of the gods.

We'll get onto that one later in the programme.

Then a Welsh-Italian main course mash up,

turkey crown with all the trimmings,

beef stracotto, roasties, vegetables, Yorkshire puddings.

And then you'd get onto the cheese, then there'd be the desserts,

about six desserts because everybody needs their favourite

from poached pears, tiramisu, panettone,

Christmas pudding had to be on there, brandy butter.

There'll be some chocolates offered, and then coffee.

And there might be a bit of ice cream.

In fact, it wasn't really a meal.

It was a marathon.

But it was, and I still want it to be, magical.

And probably more so than ever because for me now,

with two small daughters,

I feel it's my responsibility to keep these traditions alive.

But I also understand that in today's nonstop, 24/7 world,

traditions are easily lost.

SHE SPEAKS ITALIAN

Even in my own family,

with Emi now living in America and Romina now working in London,

five generations of tradition could melt away like snow.

Which is why, this year,

I've decided it's about time

I reinvigorated the Chiappa family Christmas.

Yay!

So I'm going to go on a journey all across Wales to meet other fellow

Welsh Italians and see what their traditions are.

And maybe even pinch a few for myself.

And then I'm going to put together

the ultimate Welsh-Italian festive menu.

While the largest and best-known Welsh-Italian communities

are here in the valleys,

there are many others spread across the country.

So I'm going to begin my festive odyssey

with a trip to the very tip of North Wales, Bangor,

and a cosy little restaurant overlooking the Menai Straits.

Pulcinella's is run by husband and wife team Mario and Yasmin De Rosa.

Originally from Pompeii in the south of Italy,

Mario's been in Wales since his teens.

Alongside Bangor-born Yasmin, they make a perfect Welsh-Italian team.

And today Mario has offered to show me

a traditional Pompeii Christmas dish...

-Hello! Piacere!

-Piacere!

-How are you?

..with a distinct Welsh twist.

Come on, then, Mario.

I want to see, I'm starving, what are we doing?

Well, it's turkey, the main meat.

-OK.

-We're not going to do a full, we're going to split in pieces.

-OK.

-Each one will be its own.

-Roasted?

-Roasted.

In the oven with potatoes, baby onions and peas.

-With rosemary.

-OK.

-And cubed smoked pancetta.

It's interesting, because it's kind of like a traditional British roast,

but you get your own individual portion.

Something like that, but everything is cooked together.

Nothing apart, everything is cooked in the same tray

and we're going to put everything in it.

Oh, interesting.

A one-pot turkey dinner?

Come on, as any Welsh mam knows, it takes a minimum of six pots,

five hours, and four large glasses of Prosecco

to pull off a decent Christmas feast.

Still, Mario reckons his Pompeii pot roast

from his mamma's own traditional recipe, no less,

is not only a one-dish wonder,

it also takes just one hour to cook.

I think this might be worth watching.

So, tell me, where do you spend Christmas now?

Do you spend it in Wales, or in Italy?

-In Wales.

-So do you keep all these traditions alive for Christmas?

We try. Every minute, I try to spend it

with the family, friends, the closest thing.

The things which make you happy.

Adding the food, it just tops up everything.

Food, family, friends, and a one-pot Christmas dinner.

This man's got style.

Shove everything in there.

-Shove everything!

-Shove everything in there.

-I like it!

-Onions, peas, just garden peas.

-But look at those lovely colours.

-How simple and... And cheap this....

-That's it. You feed a nice family

of six, even seven people, but it's so easy to do.

Now we need to add a bit of garlic.

-OK.

-Little bulbs, yeah?

OK.

-Few pieces of those.

-Go on, give me a go.

That's it! You're really going for it, aren't you?

I've noticed there's a cheeky glass of wine there.

My mamma always said,

-when you cook you have to have a little glass of wine.

-Always.

For atmosphere.

Obviously, not to overdo it, just a glass of wine while you cook.

Just a little one.

It puts you in a better mood and things, it relaxes you.

Do you know what? It is my favourite time to have a glass of wine.

-Just when you're cooking.

-Would you like a glass of wine?

-I wouldn't say no!

-You shouldn't!

Right, time to crack on.

Next, a good glug of olive oil.

Fresh rosemary.

Just spread it around, everywhere.

Make sure then all the oil amalgamates with it.

OK, and what's going in now?

I would love some black pepper.

-Salt, obviously.

-Obviously.

But not too much.

Like anything else, if you do too much it will overpower.

-Too much! Too much! Too much!

-Too much!

Next...

We move to the turkey breast.

-That's a pretty big breast, I have to say.

-It looks like an eagle! Yes!

I'm glad you're doing this bit, I don't like cutting meat.

-You don't?

-I hate cutting meat.

-It's the best bit!

Flesh is good. Flesh is good.

Nice and chunky.

Being a breast as well, you don't want to overcook it.

That's why you leave the skin on as well.

All right, the next thing we do now, we just... Frying pan.

-We are just going to seal it from the outside.

-OK.

When you see it, you make, like, a shield around it.

The heat is getting in, but it's not getting out.

So most of the juice it stays inside, and that's how you want it.

You wanted cooked, but still nice and tender, the juice.

And now we're going to put it with our veg.

And there we are. A little nest, like my mamma used to say.

Lastly, seal some smoky pancetta in a little olive oil.

For anyone that can't stand to cook a roast turkey on Christmas Day

because they can't fit it in the oven or, you know,

they haven't got the time, this is a brilliant dish,

because one hour in the oven

and you've got an amazing twist on a roast turkey for Christmas day.

Just push to the side, so it's nice and sealed.

And it's done.

-We just have to wait.

-Where's our glass of wine, eh?

Yeah, where's the glass of wine? Come on!

And as promised, just one hour later,

thanks to the magic of mamma's one-pot turkey roast,

Mario's serving up.

Looks good, but will it pass the taste test?

Merry Christmas, Buon Natale.

Oh, grazie.

-Buon appetito. Salute.

-Salute.

-Chin-chin!

-Buon Natale.

-Buon Natale.

Nadolig Llawen.

Silence! Silence!

-A sign of good food.

-Bellissimo.

The rosemary, pancetta, Cipollini, it's a great Christmas Day roast.

One pan, no washing up. What a great little secret.

Simple, and everybody can do it.

Mama de Rosa's Christmas feast.

Grazie, Mama.

Mario, what a character!

It's been such fun meeting him.

I mean, in there is a little bit of Italy,

but we're right here on the North-Wales coastline.

And yet, you know, he made a traditional Italian dish,

which is different to the ones that I know,

it was a bit more like what we know back here.

A roast, in a tin, cooked slightly differently, delicious,

with such simple ingredients.

And it was just...

It's just amazing to see how close our cultures actually are.

In the morning, I leave Bangor

and head down through Snowdonia towards Aberystwyth.

If truth be told, I'm a bit bleary eyed,

as I spent last night tossing and turning over this sticky question.

How many times do you have to do something

before you can rightfully call it a tradition?

Can you call something that you, or your family,

or a group of your friends do regularly a tradition?

Or is it something that has to be repeated

and then handed down through the generations?

In the case of my family's Christmas, starting in the 1920s,

when my great-grandfather, Giovanni Viazzani,

walked all the way from Bardi in northern Italy to Merthyr.

And then going down through each of the four generations

that have followed, our Christmases have always been the same.

Church on a Christmas morning, then a big family gathering,

followed by a five-hour, Welsh-Italian food-athon.

So having giving it a lot of thought,

I think it's safe to say that after 90-odd years,

the Chiappa family Christmas is a tradition, not a fad.

Aberystwyth greets me with a seasonal, wintry welcome.

I'm here to meet up with Chiara Agnelli,

owner of a traditional Italian bar and deli in the town centre.

But before I can get anywhere near her sumptuous-looking millefoglie

or cannoli, I get a totally unexpected surprise.

I just met Juana, or Joan, as she's known around here,

and apparently we're cousins.

Yes. She's from the same tiny little village above Bardi as me, Pilati.

-And so your Nonno, no, your father...

-Yes.

-..was cousins...

-My mother.

-Your mother was cousins with my Nonno.

-Yes.

-So do you remember...?

His Nonno then, your Nonno's father.

-Yes.

-My goodness!

You find cousins everywhere.

I, constantly, with my father... We'll go to a new town,

whether it's in Wales, or in Italy,

"Michela, Michela, meet your cousin."

And I'm like...

You know, we were on a flight recently

and there was a cousin of mine! So you're a real Welsh Italian.

Yes. Yes.

I was actually born across the road where there is a Starbucks now.

At this point me and Juana,

my long lost cousin I never knew I had,

are joined by two other members

of Aberystwyth's thriving Welsh-Italian community.

Pierre and Paolo.

I don't think I'm related to either of them,

although both of their families also hail from Bardi.

So you never know.

So, tell me,

I'm trying to find out whether we all have the same traditions.

So, for Christmas, what are your traditions?

Definitely anolini in brodo.

-Definitely.

-Snap.

It's all anolini, anolini.

The wife is the same.

Anolini, anolini.

What is this anolini?

It's the dish of the gods.

Or so my father would have you believe.

Traditional Christmas fair in Emilia-Romagna,

the North-Italian region my family originate from.

Anolini in brodo consists of tiny pasta parcels

plumped with braised beef, cooked in a chicken broth

and sprinkled with plenty of Parmesan cheese.

My dad, if any guests come,

and he sees them eating anolini he goes nuts.

He's like, "This is like gold dust in our house."

Oh, yes. You save them.

I have to keep a reserve, yes.

Definitely.

There's an ever-growing number of Aberystwyth Welsh Italians

joining me at the table.

And all agree that no Christmas could possibly be complete

without anolini in brodo.

Although, in fairness, aside from Sicilian Adriano,

everybody else, Pierre, Paolo, Luisa, Mauro

and my long lost cousin Juana all originate from the same area

in northern Italy as me.

And there, anolini is as traditional as Christmas pud.

Owner, Chiara, on the other hand, is from Milan, but with Sicilian blood.

And for her, no Christmas feast would be complete

without Melanzane alla parmigiana.

An incredibly simple Italian classic

for which every family will have their own particular recipe.

And Chiara's about to show me hers.

-That's the tomato sauce.

-OK. So you already made this?

-Yes.

-Onions, garlic, oregano. I do put sugar.

MICHELA GASPS That's all right.

-Yeah, no. Just to bring the... To take the acidity out.

-I do.

And then you bake the aubergines in oil.

-And bake them in the oven?

-Yes.

-For what? 5-10 minutes?

-One thing I've noticed...

-No, less than that.

-OK.

-Much less. Probably five.

One thing I've found about the aubergines,

in Italy I used to soak them with the salt.

Now I don't need to do it here.

I don't understand why.

It's because they modify the vegetables, I think.

Shh. Don't tell anybody, OK.

Melanzane alla parmigiana is essentially a vegetarian lasagne.

So you treat your aubergines like the pasta sheets,

so you layer it with, like, a tomato sauce

and then the mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.

And that's it. It's delicious.

There's a bit of a debate whether it's a dish from Emilia-Romagna

or whether it's a dish from the south, right?

But, whatever, it's a lovely dish.

OK. Mozzarella.

-Thank you.

-Grated. Grated mozzarella.

I've already got it this way because I think it's easier.

Next, add a dash more salt, a bit of pepper,

and a sprinkling of oregano.

That's the first layer complete, now just repeat.

You must have learned how to cook from your mum.

-Not really.

-No?

-No, she doesn't cook.

-An Italian who doesn't cook?

-I know. It sounds so strange.

And sometimes I'd rather not say, because no-one believes that.

-But that's the truth.

-Wow!

Chiara's family secret, passed down by her grandmother, and not,

of course, her mamma, is to sprinkle lots and lots

and lots of Parmesan cheese over the top layer.

And finish it off with a handful of breadcrumbs.

After 25 minutes in the oven at 190 degrees,

the end result...

There you go.

..is a bubbling Melanzane Parmigiana with a crispy, caramelised crust.

That's amazing, that crust.

Wow. Look at that!

Oozy cheese.

Lovely.

-Do you like it?

-A lovely crunch on it.

Lovely, isn't it? Can we handle adding this to a Christmas menu?

Where would we fit it in? After the anolini, before?

I'm sure we'll find a slot somewhere along the line.

-Yeah.

-We could make it an all-day event then.

From seven o'clock in the morning until seven at night.

Buoyed by my trip to North Wales,

I drive back south with a head full of ideas

for my ultimate Welsh-Italian festive menu.

But I'm only halfway through my road trip.

And my next stop is the capital city.

I've just arrived here at Cardiff's Riverside market.

It's a lovely day.

I'm here to meet someone a bit later.

But first I want to go and see if I can find

some lovely Welsh produce for my Italian Christmas feast.

Do you know? I love farmer's markets.

They offer a variety of local home-grown produce

that even ten years ago you could only really find in Italy.

Produce like chard, packed with nutrients,

cheap as chips, and delicious, sauteed in a little butter

with a squeeze of lemon and sprinkled with Parmesan cheese.

Mm!

Thank you.

Of course, the problem with all this fantastic fare

is that you end up trying and buying more than you bargained for.

Cheese.

Oh, it's delicious.

'More cheese.'

I like that. Oh, I think I'll have one of those.

Thank you.

'Bread to go with the cheese.'

And... Oh, gin!

-Do you want a little taste?

-Go on, then.

How would you put gin into, like, a Christmas lunch?

A lot of people like to mix sloe gin with Prosecco.

To add an accompaniment to a cocktail.

This with Prosecco.

So that's got sloe berries, elder berries, and damson berries.

So, it's not just sloe.

I might have just found myself my Christmas Aperol spritz.

-Perfect.

-Sloe gin and Prosecco.

Chard, cheese, bread, and gin.

Thank you very much.

'Productive morning!'

But now it's time for me to seek out

the next source of inspiration for my Welsh-Italian festive menu.

Cardiff University tutor Bruna Chezzi.

-Ciao!

-Piacere.

-Piacere.

-Come stai?

-Bene, bene, grazie.

And who's this little one?

Ah, this is Oscar Luigi Tudor, my little Welsh Italian.

Hi, Oscar.

Bruna, who is Italian born, came to Wales to study 15 years ago.

-Could we get two cappuccinos please?

-Yes, absolutely.

-Thank you.

Fell in love with a Welshman and Wales.

And now, like me, has started on the next generation of Welsh Italians.

But being a Catholic, Bruna still observes the Italian tradition

of eating no meat on Christmas Eve.

Just like we do in the Chiappa household.

-Look how big the cabbages are.

-Oh, wow!

-Look at the parsley.

-I know.

-The parsley would be good in the risotto.

-OK.

With the fish, and the prawns.

So the dish that Bruna wants to add to my Welsh-Italian menu...

A few carrots, yes, please.

..is a prawn and vegetable risotto.

A dish where colour is just as important as flavour.

-Lovely. I'm famished, I am.

-I'm always hungry.

'Andiamo in cucina. Let's go to the kitchen.'

What I love about a risotto is this is how simple it can be.

It's some cheap, cheap ingredients.

You've got... Always start with an onion.

-I always have an onion in a risotto.

-Yes, yes.

A herb. Some lovely veggies.

Some of the cheapest vegetables you can find.

And then, a risotto.

Now, the most important thing about risotto

-is you have to have the right rice.

-Absolutely.

So it has to be Arborio or carnaroli,

because it's a fat rice which absorbs all the flavours.

'As we get down to business,

'I take the opportunity to quiz Bruna

'on a subject very close to my heart.'

So you did a PhD on the Welsh Italians?

-Is that true?

-Yes, that's right.

To be more precise,

-it's on cultural representations.

-OK.

-Of the Italians in Wales.

Did you find anything out that surprised you?

Yes, for example, one of your programmes, Michela, that I watched.

The programmes on the Welsh Italians.

-Yes.

-I was watching that programme, it really brought tears to my eyes.

Because so many things have changed.

And I thought, you know, the things you were explaining I thought,

"Yes, this is me as an Italian."

But when I was a little girl, you know.

I'm not sure it's the same any more.

That's fascinating, I think, because what's happened with us,

is because we've been brought up in Wales we have clung on fiercely

to these traditions of doing anolini at Christmas and Easter traditions.

We've got to give you some credit for the fact that it's like you are,

-kind of, maintaining...

-Oh, totally.

-And carry on the, kind of...

-Italy that, you know, otherwise is going to be...

-Lost.

Disappear, going to be lost.

-Well...

-You are maintaining that old-fashioned...

Well, I hope so. I mean, you say about traditions dying out.

They don't have to die out. We can bring them back to life.

-No, exactly. Yeah.

-I think that is so important.

Our world is moving so fast.

And if we don't keep these traditions alive they will get lost.

Absolutely.

It would seem from Bruna's studies and observations

that it might well be down to our generation of Welsh Italians

to keep these Christmas traditions alive.

And then, hopefully, pass them on to our children, too.

-Shall we add the prawns now, I think?

-Sure.

-Yeah.

If you want to know how to make this risotto or any of the recipes

featured in this series, visit the programme website.

Buonissimo. Complimente.

Grazie.

-Salute!

-Chin-chin. Buon Natale!

-Buon Natale!

My whistle-stop tour of the Welsh-Italian community

began in Bangor with Mario's simple, but scrumptious

one-pot turkey roast.

And I'm now going to finish my jaunt in Newport,

with the most decadent fish dish I think I've ever seen.

Twins Sergio and Pasquale Cinotti came to Wales from Lazio

22 years ago and opened the Gemelli's coffee shop.

Famous for their outlandish sweets and desserts,

they now also have a restaurant.

And it's here that Sergio's promised to rustle me up a festival of fish

that pays tribute to the traditional Christmas dishes

his mamma used to make.

What is this? This is sea bass?

-Sea bass.

-OK.

-Filleted already.

So we try to put on one fish as many types of fish as we can.

-OK.

-They go beautiful together.

We've got some monkfish which already chopped.

We're going to make something like a mousse.

-OK.

-To go inside our fish. Our sea bass.

We have white crab, which has already been steamed and cleaned.

-We've got crayfish.

-Crayfish.

And we are in Wales, so we have to use some laver bread.

Lovely. Let's have a look.

-So first we cook it for about four to six hours, very low.

-OK.

After, tradition warrants that it comes with oatmeal and...

So you mix it with oatmeal?

And bacon powder. Fresh bacon powder.

-Bacon powder.

-And we make a cracker.

Wow, can I have a little try?

Of course you can. There you are.

Mm.

I like it. A new Welsh crisp.

Laver bread and bacon.

Time to crack on with Sergio's piscine extravaganza.

With the discarded fish bones being used to make up a stock,

he sets about the monkfish mousse.

Drop in the pre-cooked chunks into the blender,

add a pinch of sea salt, a healthy glug of fresh cream, blitz,

then spread this fishy confection over your sea bass fillet. Next...

-We use our laver bread.

-Yeah.

-Nice.

Now we have our white crab,

and again, the beautiful red of the crayfish.

Molto bene. Next sprinkle powdered laver bread onto some clingfilm.

-Wow! Look at that.

-Absolutely beautiful colour, isn't it?

-Very green.

-Roll your stuffed fish through the powder,

seal it in a little clingfilm parcel

and then leave it to rest on ice for about 20 minutes.

So we've got our little fish parcel.

-Yes.

-So, how would you serve that up then?

We're going to make a fantastic Bouillabaisse sauce.

A lot of shellfish and fish.

-Delicious.

-We're going to cook that.

We use that as a base on our dish, and put the sea bass right on top.

This is like fish, fish, fish, fish.

That's what Christmas is all about. Fish and festivity.

And most of all, tradition as well.

That's why I want to included into it laver bread

and this particular sauce.

-It's tradition.

-Keeping traditions alive.

That's what Christmas is about, yes.

Sergio gets the fish in the oven

while the shellfish-rich Bouillabaisse bubbles away.

And after nine minutes at 180 degrees.

Yes! Fish!

Ready. Fantastic.

-That's our fish.

-Oh, my goodness.

Our sauce is ready. It smells absolutely fantastic.

Oh, the saffron.

Absolutely. And the fish and a bit of wine, beautiful.

Maybe a good facial,

I could stay and have a saffron facial or something.

OK. We are going to put just some of it.

This dish, OK, it's quite a decadent dish.

You've got four or five different types of prawns in the raux,

then you've got the sauce, you've got caviar there, white wine.

Christmas you should try to treat your guests.

So you have to make the effort to spend a bit of money,

not just on gifts, but as well on food.

Would your mamma have done a dish with caviar and all these things...

-No.

-Or would it have been simple?

It would be simple, of course, especially those years.

It definitely would be simple.

But definitely she would make the extra effort.

That's it. That's our festive sea bass.

Wow! It looks incredible.

Yeah, we try to put classic and modern approach together.

-Gorgeous.

-It looks fantastic.

-Amazingly beautiful.

But I really want to try it.

-Of course, we take it on the table.

-Come on, then.

So we'll try to cut it right in the centre.

Wow! Look at that.

See, you've got the grain of laver bread.

You can see the crab. You can see the crayfish.

-Absolutely fantastic, isn't it?

-It smells amazing.

Come on, I'm starving!

Wow, I got a big bit. That sauce smells divine.

-Thank you. Thank you.

-There you are.

Wow! Look at that!

So you've got saffron, you've got caviar.

I've got it all!

-Buon appetito.

-Buon appetito.

-Delicious. Wow!

-You can taste the fish.

You can taste the laver bread, yeah.

It's delicious.

See, when you've got quality ingredients

you don't need really to do much elaboration.

We didn't do much, did we?

-No.

-Not much(!)

I think it's fresh, simple and delicious.

Delicious and decadent.

And with the laver bread and the fresh Welsh seafood,

Sergio has created a proper Welsh-Italian food fusion.

Would I put it on my festive menu?

Well, it's certainly given me some food for thought.

So I've eaten my way all around Wales

from Mario up north to Bruna down in the south.

And I think I can now cherry pick lots of different ideas

to create my ultimate Welsh-Italian festive menu.

So in the next episode of The Welsh-Italian Christmas,

I'm going to rustle up a six-course festive menu inspired by my travels,

and then serve it all up for scrutiny

when I throw a Christmas party for the Welsh-Italian community.

Missed that vital Italian ingredient?

Find all the recipes featured in this series at bbc.in/welshitalians.