Sweet Bread with Grapes. Schiacciata con l’Uva (Flatbread with Grapes) is another traditional peasant dessert, typical during the early autumn grape harvest. Peasant families who worked the vineyards made this dessert with leavened bread, olive oil, sugar and grapes from the harvest. Canaiolo, an indigenous Tuscan grape, was the grape read more
These giant wild mushrooms are justly famous for their intense woodsy flavor. Once dried, they flavor many soups, sauces and stews. When fresh they are often enjoyed simply prepared, in Tuscany with the classical accompaniment of nepitella, a wild herb that looks like thyme but has a slightly minty flavor. read more
Ravioli with Meat Sauce. Many regions in Italy boast spinach and ricotta ravioli, and they go by many different names and have different sauces, but in Tuscany they are served with a spare serving of simple meat sauce flavored with a bit of tomato, onion and carrot.
Tripe with Tomato Sauce Tripe stewed until incredibly tender in a mild tomato sauce and topped with grated Parmesan cheese.
Squid and Spinach Stew. “Inzimino” is the Tuscan dialect for “zimino” stewed spinach or chard with tomato, it refers both to the cooking method and the ingredients, most often encountered in sepia inzimino with stewed squid, but you can find lampredotto inzimino, octopus inzimino, etc. The spinach melts down becoming read more
Fava Beans or Broad Beans. What Tuscans call “baccelli” and Brits call “broad beans” go by “fava beans” in the US or “fave” in much of Italy. Throughout Tuscany these big, broad, bright green pods are a sign of Spring, and consuming them raw is a an annual rite. They read more
This is definitely one of the few cases of English language influencing Italian; and even more improbably, Italians following the lead of English cooking. But the famous Florentine “bistecca” derives from the British who took to ordering “beefsteak” so often, the Italians adopted their own variation of the word, as read more
Alba and the surrounding regions of Piemonte have the most famous (and most expensive!) white truffles, considered to be the best in the world, but San Miniato and the surrounding hills and woods produce white truffles that don’t disappoint. Truffles pack a powerful aroma, they are more fragrant than flavorful, read more
Pasta with Wild Boar. Tuscany eats more bread than pasta. Two of their signature primi aren’t pasta but bread enriched “soups,” ribollita and pappa al pomodoro, but put those aside and there are regional pastas well worth seeking out – the first to look for, pappardelle con cinghiale featuring the read more
An all encompassing name for all sorts of fried foods, but most often referring to sweet fritters which, at least in the region surrounding Florence have two main types: yeast and flour based fritelle, similar to a light beignet, and rice fritelle. Both versions are enjoyed typically in the pre-Lenten read more