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knowing your path through a Tuscan menu All Things Tuscan
[Maddalena Delli]
Faithful to this date to its peasant roots, Tuscan cooking relies on saltless bread, fresh local ingredients, herbs and plentiful olive oil. But where should you start picking when facing your restaurant menu? Chicken liver crostini are the traditional starter. Otherwise you might like some fettunta (toasted bread with garlic and only the best olive oil) or a mixed platter of Tuscan cured meats, better still if made of the Sienese breed of cinta pig.Pasta dishes are less common here than elsewhere in Italy. Tortelli di patate from Mugello, pappardelle (wide ribbon pasta) often served with hare or boar sauce and pici (thick home-made spaghetti) from the Siena area are the most popular varieties of local pasta, but otherwise Tuscan first courses are bean soups or bread-based preparations like pappa al pomodoro (bread and tomato soup) and ribollita (vegetable, bean and bread soup), all of them a feat for vegetarians. Another typically local bread-based first course is panzanella, a tasty mixed salad which is simply perfect in the hot season.
On the other hand, bistecca alla fiorentina is the ultimate treat for lovers of red meat. A proper bistecca should be about one inch thick (the thickness being determined by the T-bone separating the filet and contre-filet) and grilled over an open flame for about five minutes on both sides. Much of the secret is the Chianina beef from a breed of huge white cattle from the Val di Chiana. By the way, should the Italian term bistecca sound not wholly unfamiliar to your English-trained ear, you'd be only too right: the word is in fact a popularisation of what the locals heard English visitors call 'beef steak'!
Back to the point, in case you do not like your beef rare, a savoury barbecued alternative is rosticciana (pork ribs). Should you feel a little more adventurous, other tasty main courses are trippa alla fiorentina (braised tripe with tomato sauce) or game such as pheasant, rabbit and wild boar. Fresh fish and seafood are plentiful along the coast where a popular dish is cacciucco, a mixed fish stew whose ingredients may vary depending on the daily catch.
Tuscans are jokingly called mangiafagioli (bean-eaters) for their love of beans, the most popular varieties being cannellini and toscanelli. A traditional recipe for beans is cooking them in a flask over a dying fire until they reach a creamy consistency. Another favorite Tuscan side dish is the mixed platter of vegetable fry-up with artichokes, courgettes, zucchini flowers, carrot sicks, mushrooms, fennels, tomato and even giant sage leaves dipped in an eggy batter and deep fried in olive oil.
For desserts try zuccotto (ice-cream sponge cake) or some 'cantucci' (almond cookies from Prato) dipped in sweet or dry Vin Santo. Worthy of special mention is the pecorino (sheepsmilk) cheese, ranging from creamy fresh to piquant mature. Try it with pears or with honey, you'll be surprised!
Vinolio in via San Zanobi 126r (tel. 055.489957) is the place to go for traditional Tuscan soups. Antica Cantina Capponi in Borgo S. Frediano 26r (tel. 055.2381569) boasts a fine selection of sea dishes as well as typical Tuscan cuisine and a wide choice of wines as does Giglio Rosso in via Panzani 35r (tel. 055.211795). Founded in 1927, this restaurant specialised in a particularly creative Tuscan cuisine and delicious fish recipes, while all its first courses are made freshly to order.
For a genuine Florentine dinner in one of the oldest restaurants in town try Natalino in Borgo Albizi 17r (tel. 055.289404). Natalino occupies the premises of a deconsacrated church - whose ancient decorations are still visible - and has a high reputation for its grilled fish and meat specialties. Worth trying also their ravioli nudi.
Trattoria Il Porcospino, located on p.zza Madonna degli Aldobrandini (tel. 055.217700) in the San Lorenzo neighborhood opposite the Medici Chapels, occupies the ground floor of the XVI century Benci Palace and features finely frescoed walls and a romantic garden. Il Porcospino blends Tuscan and Ligurian cuisine, so you'll be able to taste a genuine 'pasta al pesto' as well as Florentine steak and tripe.
Le Botteghe di Donatello behind the Duomo (tel. 055.216678) also manages the nearby 'Sapori del Chianti' store on via dei Servi specializing in Tuscan food and wines including over five hundred labels of wines, sparkling wines, grappa, champagne, cognacs, extra virgin olive oil, aromatic vinegar, pasta, tuscan salami and pecorino cheese (you can also shop online at www.isaporidelchianti.it).
Similarly, Trattoria Baldovino in via S. Giuseppe 22r by Santa Croce (tel. 055.241773) doubles as Enoteca (winery) next door at number 18r. The trattoria is a cosmopolitan, cheerful and popular restaurant offering Tuscan specialties, vegetable dishes and salads, mixed grills and fish as well as seasonal menu entries changing monthly, while in the Enoteca a wide range of food and wine is served in a bright area with a marble-topped counter backed with shelves laden with jars, while salamis and hams hang from butcher’s hooks.
Pleasant variations on a traditional menu are available in the historic San Frediano district from the fashionable O!O Bar con Cucina on piazza Piattellina (tel.055.212917), where Tuscan dishes and Mediterranean influences go hand in hand in a smooth blend of design, music, art and 'organic art food'.
The Ristorante i Quattro Amici in via degli Orti Orticellari 29 by the Station (tel. 055.215413) is renowned for its excellent fish dishes. Nearby, for an out-of-hours meal head for La Grotta di Leo in via della Scala 41/43r (tel. 055.219265), whose kitchen is open daily from 11am to 1am for delicious pizzas and Tuscan dishes, while early birds should cross the Arno and try ViaVai in via Pisana 33r (tel. 055.223132) where ViviFirenze readers leaving their table before 9pm (they open at 7pm) are entitled to a 15 percent discount off their bill.
Buon appetito!
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