The Cooking and Cuisine of Tuscany

[Adam_Balic]

My wife and I have rented a flat in Florence of three weeks in July, I am interested in eating some of the more tradional foods and ultimately cooking it myself. I have family that live in Chianti and will be in Siena quite a bit also, so I have the oppertunity to taste food from all over the region. I already have the local tripe stall and blood-pudding supplier sorted (unfortunately it isn't pig killing time so no blood desert)  but are there any other local food of interest in the region which you would consider a must have?

Oh, has anybdy cooked cardoons? The last time I came back from Florence I bought two kilos of cardoons with me, but after cooking them I found that they were to old and bitter to eat.

[Robert Schonfeld]

Adam, I suggest having a look at anything by Bugialli, a very rigorous Florentine. Also, Faith Willinger, an American living in Florence. You might even be able to look her up.

If I had to choose just one item from Tuscany in July, I would say white peaches, although it's pathetic to name just one thing in a region so blessed with prime ingredients and foodstuffs.

Please take careful notes so I can have a vicarious Tuscan experience when you return.

[Jinmyo]

Adam, I like Bugs Bunny cardoons!

Actually, I've made fritto di cardoni a few times.

[Steve Plotnicki]

I always wanted to try the porchetta from the guy who sells it on Saturday mornings from the truck in the piazza in Greve di Chianti . There's a famous butcher shop in that town as well with home made salsicia. Otherwise I haven't been in Tuscany in 13 years.

[John Whiting]

If you haven't read it, a good way to prepare for an extended stay in Florence is Ross King's _Brunelleschi's Dome_, the story of the city's cathedral and an extraordinary evocation of the intellectual ferment and political intrigue of renaissance Italy.

[Adam_Balic]

Robert -White Peaches, yes on of the great joys of the world. A pity they don't transport very well, I haven't eaten them in years, not sice I moved to the city ( we had a few trees back on the farm). Excellent, I will glut myself on them, any substandard fruit can go into the Bellini's! Ah, holidays and the sweet anticipation of white peach and stuffed zucchini flower joy to come.

Jinmyo - did you have to blanch the cardooni first?

Steve - part of my trip will involve staying at Gaioli in Chianti, which is quite close so I will have to drop in. Although, I just know when I say to my friends that there is some excellent Porcetta in Greve they will say "sure, but we have better Porcetta in Gaioli".

John - that sounds like excellent holiday reading material. I was going to take "The Fairy Queen", which I have taken on every holiday with me for the past ten years, but still haven't managed to get past the first one hundred pages or so. The same with "Finnegans Wake".

[Jinmyo]

Adam, yes. A bit more thorough than blanching actually. Then basic batter and deep-fry.

They were quite good. There are several other things I would like to try with them but I see them rarely.

[John Whiting]

I was going to take "The Fairy Queen", which I have taken on every holiday with me for the past ten years, but still haven't managed to get past the first one hundred pages or so.

The graduate English Department at Cal Berkeley used to have a Fairy Queen Club, consisting of those who had read it through to the end. There were, I was told, certain other prerequisites....

At Berkeley's incorrigibly highbrow FM station, KPFA, I once produced a two-hour adaptation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. It became an annual Christmas feature: "Sex and Violence in Middle English! Only on KPFA!"

[Adam_Balic]

I was going to take "The Fairy Queen", which I have taken on every holiday with me for the past ten years, but still haven't managed to get past the first one hundred pages or so.

The graduate English Department at Cal Berkeley used to have a Fairy Queen Club, consisting of those who had read it through to the end. There were, I was told, certain other prerequisites....

At Berkeley's incorrigibly highbrow FM station, KPFA, I once produced a two-hour adaptation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. It became an annual Christmas feature: "Sex and Violence in Middle English! Only on KPFA!"

Cripes, I new there was a reason why I couldn't finish it, too darn hetrosexual. .

Once upon I time I collected stories of the Arthurian cycle, lots weird sex and bashing the Saracen. My favorite was "Fergus of Galloway: Knight of Arthur", which is a 13th C. piss-take on the genre. The most disturbed version was cycle by T.H. White, I have no idea what Disney was thinking when they used this particular version as the basis of their animation.

[Steve Plotnicki]

Adam - The only other things I can add is to eat at Sostanza (great steaks) on the via Porcellane and at Cibreo across from Santa Croce. I used to like eating at Vecchio Bertola as they made this great penne dish with a spicy sauce but can't vouch it's still good.

[Adam_Balic]

Thanks Steve, after I have finished standing on Dante, I will check out the places around Santa Croce!

[ciel]

Adam - Not sure if you've already left, but I just got back from a week long vacation in Tuscany and have some ideas for you. We rented a villa near the town of Chiusi and had great food the entire time. A couple recommendations on food to look for:

Rabbit dishes are excellent and common in Tuscany. Italian for rabbit is conighlio, I had some that was stuffed with a veal and cheese mixture that was unbelievable. Also, pici pasta is very good, it is type of noodle that I had not seen before. It is thicker than spaghetti, with lots of flavor. You'll also find the best gnocchi here (it is often not cooked well in the states - too doughy - so give it a try there). I had a gnocchi in a simple tomato sauce that was fantastic. Finally, truffles are everywhere, indulge yourself with some truffle pasta or risotto.

If you head to Siena, I highly recommend a restaurant called Le Logge, just off the main square. Ask around, it is not hard to find. Have a great time!

[Adam Balic]

Ciel - still in tuscany! Thanks for the tips, I have eaten rabbit twice so far. The first time was in "Agrodolce" (sour-sweet, very old manner of cooking game)which was a dissapointing as it wasn't really agrodolce at all . The second time I had the dubious honour off picking out the rabbit (a friends father has a hutch of them), difficult choice really, they are all so damn cute. In the end I just picked the most evil looking one. Tasted good.

Also have add had two different styles of tripe. "Chianti" style which is cold tripe with salt/pepper good olive oil and "Volterra" style which is a tripe stewed in tomato, red wine veg. etc and you eat it like pasta.

I'm glad you liked the picci, it is the only "native" tuscan pasta. Difficult to cook though, as there is fine line between just right and ruined.

As we have rented an apartment in Florence I have had the chance to do a lot of cooking. The quality and freshness of the ingredients has elavated my cooking to a new level. Everything is just so good here. Even simple things taste amazing. I have eaten about 50 peaches in the last week, they are just so perfect.

There was a cold snap about two weeks ago, which is bad for the vines, but it does mean that there has been an early flush of Porchini (three months early!). In other words like is good.

I been inviteted to go night eel-fishing, so I will post if that has been a success.

[tony h]

I was going to take "The Fairy Queen", which I have taken on every holiday with me for the past ten years, but still haven't managed to get past the first one hundred pages or so. The same with "Finnegans Wake".

I have the same problem with William Gaddis' The Recognitions.

[Sandra Levine]

I assume I'm too late, but I hope you have read Waverly Root's The Foods of Italy. The book is thirty years old, so any restaurant recommendations would be worthless, but the descriptions of traditional Italian foods are still mouth-watering and evocative.

[Adam Balic]

Sandra - Yes, I have read Mr. Root's books (bought them in the USA actually), they are brillant. I have just finished Goethe's Italian journal, which has also been a great way of getting into the mood of things here.

[Gary Marshall]

Adam,

if you've time san gimignano is worth a trip, it's between florence and siena. Had some great meals at trattoria chiribiri, piazza della madonna 1 tel 0577/941948 closed weds but open 11am to 11pm.

SG is a beautiful, walled hill top fortress town.

[Jim Dixon]

Back to cardoon...

I made a quick pickle earlier this spring.

First pulled the stringy stuff from the back, then cut out some of the tough skin on the inner stalk (I found, after doing about half, that thisis much easier on the concave stalk if you split them lengthwise first)...cut into pot-sized lengths.

Boiled them for about 25 minutes (depends on how old/big the stalks are) until tender-ish.

Mixed water, salt, sugar, and vinegar until it tasted about right (not too sweet, not too vinegary), then soaked them in the fridge.

very tasty, with the bitter cardoon playing off the sweet-sour.

I think I put the approximate recipe on my site.

Do you have a car while you're in Italy? A nice 2-3 day road trip could be made with a pork-themed visit to Norcia in Umbria (a bit east of Spoletto, and up), and from there a short hop to Casteluccio for some lentils (lenticchie in italia). Another, altho' it's long drive for just one day, is the parco naturale near Grosetto in the Maremma. About 10 km from the Aurelia autostrada, including a stretch of gravel road, and you're on the only unspoiled beach in Tuscany...no cabanas, no umbrellas, and not too many people.

Jim

[thefoodhunter]

Make sure you taste some "lardo di colonnata".

[Adam Balic]

Jim - thanks for the Cardoon advice, I did wonder what to do with that vegetable public hair stuff that grows on the inside on older stalks. Unfortunately they are not in season at them moment, nor are artichokes (no surprise their). I have recipe for cardoons that involves the blanching step, they you place a veal stuffin in the grove of the plant then fry - again will have to wait. We have a car, unfortunately we had a slight accident comming back from the Opera in Fiesola last night, so car trips will have to wait until a few repairs are made. Will catch the train to Cinque terra tomorrow though .

Marc - I have being eating lardo for the last week, all my Italian friends think that is really funny to offer Lardo to the "stanger", so it has been practically comming out of my ears. I like it a great deal, but think that it is a misatke to grill it as some places do.

[Jim Dixon]

Last fall in Umbria it looked like cardoons had been planted between the grape vines along the rows in the vineyard, and I'm guessing they're grown over the winter and harvested in the early spring (I suppose I could look in the garden book that's right behind me as I type this, but no).

I had a sample of pack of seeds I tossed inthe garden and every one of the damned things sprouted. Ineed to thin them and will try some of the more immature stalks to see how the taste. Right now they are more leaf than stalk.

I met a guy who lives in Firenze and runs a web site called Terra di Toscana. He led us on a tour of his favorite neighborhood places, most of them west of the centro near Piazza Bacaria. There was a place just down the street from the piazza that sold bird seed, dog food, and really good lardo and cheeses. Carlo claimed his city friends were amazed he could buy such good stuff in town. Wish I could remember what it was called, but might not be too hard to find. There's also a good outdoor market near the piazza.

I had some great farinato in a pizza place near the train station (well, down the road a bit toward town) in Levanto, the farthest stop on the Cinque Terra rail-trail pass.

Jim

[Dana]

We were in Tuscany last fall and had a terrific bistecca at La Porta in Monticchiello. It's a small, local place and the owner/wine chick's name is Daria and she's very good. Brunellos and Vino Nobiles both excellent. We were on a culinary tour and the whole tour opted to go back there for a second meal. I could easily live there. It was awesome.

[Adam Balic]

On Tuesday I went to a fancy-smacy Chianti Classico tasting (and book launch) in Prato. Much wine, which I will write about later, but excellent food providied by local artisans. Porcetta to die for was provided by the Butcher from Pranzano, who people say is mad. The reason for this is because he served the Porcetta with a sweet chille sauce (similar to the Thai sweet chille sauces). To the locals this is an indication of madness. He also had a fantastic Sopressato (head cheese, brawn etc) made with fennel seeds, orange rind and vin santo, utterly fantastic.

Very good derserts made by the very famous Biscotti maker (who's name excapes me) of Prato. Got very drunk, woke up the next day surrounded by packages of deserts, which I was informed that when I was very, very drunk indeed, of snuck into the kitchen and stole. I have no recollection of this, but I do have a lot of deserts now.

Offal front:

I have fallen in Love. Lampredotto = King of Offal. I was told it was intestines, but it is really the diaphram. Slowly braised until meltingly tender, it has a layer of meat, then a layer of gelatinized collagen. All this cooked in a peppery broth, sliced and put into bun for you on the street. So good, Tripe is merely the John that Baptist, Lampredotto is the true saviour.

[Jim Dixon]

Adam,

Where did you get the lampredotto? I have a feeling we won't be getting to Italy for awhile, but still want to hunt it down.

Jim

[Adam Balic]

Jim - you get it from street stalls around Florence, so they move about a bit. On is located outside the Central Market (excellent) on one of the street corners., another is located in a side street , on the near the market with the statue of the wild boar. I went to a left wing/communist Fair in the Fort laast night, they sold Lampredotto there, but is wasn't very good - not enough salt and pepper.

No cardoons or artichokes, too early in the season. You are lucky to have then, even if they are taking over (actually they are quite pretty in a giant thistly type of way).