Genoa – Le lentils, “because they bring money”. Grapes and pomegranate, “because they are good luck for the year to come”. And then a first course of fresh pasta, with more than one curiosity. A second course of fish. Russian salad, among the appetizers, together with cured meats. And to finish, dried fruit and a dessert. New Year's Eve dinner? For many Ligurians it will be at home, with relatives or friends, to then go out into the square in time to say goodbye to the year we leave behind and welcome the 2024 that will be. But how much is it? The National Observatory Federconsumatori did the math by hypothesizing two different menus: a “classic” one with salmon, fresh pasta, clams; a cheap one with marinated anchovies, spaghetti, cheap table wine. The bill? 312.78 euros for a family of four people and two grandparents in the case of less economic constraints; 185.34 euros, however, for the set table – again for parents and two children, plus two grandparents – in a family unit where you have to pay more attention to the budget. Compared to 2022, costs increase by 5.1% in the most expensive menu, with a current average expense of 52.13 euros per person. In the economic menu, however, the cost per person is 30.89 euros (also in this case, an increase compared to 2022, by 3.5%).
What weighs most on the shopping list? «Above all fish, fruit and sweets» they say from Federconsumatori. A picture of what is going best – and what, instead, is having less success compared to the New Year's Eve parties at home in past years – is also drawn from other realities, from Confcooperative at Confartigianato. Above all, traditional dishes prevail: Russian caviar, experts explain, has lost ground due to the war between Russia and Ukraine, just as foie gras is less popular and present than in the past. At the Mercato Orientale in Genoa, in the heart of the city, the stalls are teeming with customers who, having finished their Christmas Eve dinners, Christmas lunches and the last marathon on Boxing Day, are looking forward to New Year's Eve. What is chosen? «Pansoti with walnut sauce, meat or fish ravioli but also something less classic such as ravioli with nettles or ravioli stuffed with prawns and courgettes – says Marzia Sudi, from the “Mammachef” counter – very few people now make home-made pasta home, most people buy everything ready. These can be cooked in a few minutes and with a simple seasoning, capable of enhancing them, they satisfy everyone.”
Among those who cook at home and start making a shopping list is Chiara Bruzzone: «We will be at home with friends in the hinterland of Genoa. We make ravioli with u tuccu and other traditional dishes, no restaurant.” Luigi Stoffa, at the counter of the same name, brings a breath of optimism: «At least for Christmas lunch and New Year's Eve dinner, customers don't pay attention to expenses and buy as if there were no tomorrow. What is asked most? For the 31st, reservations will come into play on December 29th, however they are already moving on oysters, scampi, prawns, lobsters, clams. To optimize time, those who buy fish want everything clean and ready.” Zampone, cotechino and cold cuts dominate the store of Gaetano Luciano, who knows something about it: he has had the counter at the Mercato Orientale for forty years now. «More or less people spend like last year, there are no particular changes» he says. Lentils, “preferably small”, Ligurian products in oil such as Sassello porcini mushrooms and lots of dried fruit: this is the shopping list at the “Oasi dried fruit” counter by Marco Vulpes, also now a historian of the Orientale.
«People are more careful about spending, yes” he says. And then: superstition makes you choose above all «grapes and pomegranate, even if artichokes, pineapple and mandarin oranges are also good» explains Patrizia Cestino, from the stall of the same name. «Something simple but of quality: a first course of fresh pasta, a second course of fish». It's the idea of Elga Pagnoni, one of the Ligurians who prefers to welcome the new year at home rather than in a restaurant. Simple but quality: what if 2024 was like this? In the meantime, this is how Elga will welcome him to the table.
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