Enogastronomy and tastes of Tuscany : culinary vacation, cooking classes, wine & oil tours, special tastings

Versilia is characterised by a variety of landscape that changes, in a few km, from sea to hill, to mountain. It is a unique environment that confirms the gastronomic variety of meat and sea dishes. Its cooking is made of simple and genuine ingredients and it goes along with the most elaborate one that had to consider the demand for innovative cuisine.

Appetizers
In Tuscany appetizer is a must as you invite somebody to lunch or to dinne. It often replaces the first or second course, being very rich and tasty. It starts with some local delicatessen like lardo di collonnata, finocchina, mallegato, tetisticciola, prosciutto, salami etc. .. then it continue with crostini with chicken livers or with lard or with mushrooms, tomato bruschetta, pickled olives, anchovies, all accompanied by a good wine.

Main course

Among the main courses we suggest home made tortelli “tordelli”, delicious ravioli stuffed with meat, papardelle pasta with ragu from dear with mushrooms, pici pasta, pasta with beans or cickpeas, polenta with mushrooms, the panzanella, frantoiana soup, cabbage soup served with slices of toasted bread (“bruschetta”), Acquacotta soup, Pappa al pomodoro soup, Ribollita soup.

Second courses
There are rabbit with olives, boar, pheasant, deer, duck, tripe alla Fiorentina, carpaccio of beef, fried eels, fried anchovies, “caciucco“ the soup of different kind of fish and mussels , the cod of Legourn as well as Fiorentina steaks that are another boast of Tuscany traditional cooking.

Vegetables
Fried or stuffed artichokes, fried zucchini flowers, thistles, beans, fricassée of mushrooms.

Sweets
The most characteristics are the "scarpaccia", a sweet pancake with stuffed courgette and "castagnaccio" the chestnut cake with rosemary and pine nuts, then rise cakes with custard or chocolate. Then biscuits “befanini” cooked in special moulds, and “cenci” connected to Epiphany.

Fish food

The cuttle-fish and beetroots, “cacciucco” is a sweet-smelling fish soup, not too spicy, cooked in a vessel made of cast iron, with octopus that is cooked without tomato but with lemon and parsley to make it more suitable to all tastes. Some other main courses are the tasty soup of mussels, “tabaccolara spaghetti” (made with the left over of the fish) or “coltellacci spaghetti” (made with razor-shells). A delicate dish of sea cooking are “cee”, small eels, that in the winter were fished in the river with a net called “ripaiola”. Versilia is famous for grilled fish seasoned with the vintage olive oil.

Hinterland gastronomy

it is characterised by a simple and poor cooking that, even using simpler ingredients, can make authentic taste masterpiece. As common habit in Tuscany, the seasoning is still olive oil of Camaiore or Massarosa oil-mills. The same oil is used to make dishes that combines the merit of digestibility to that of characteristic taste and flavour. Chestnut are the basis of several typical dishes and they are used either entire or as flour. As a matter of fact, grinding chestnut in order to have a white and sweet flour was the best way to keep them and satisfy one’s appetite during the long and cold winter months. “Polenta” made of chestnut flour with bones and pork pieces was the winter dish of Apuane and Garfagnana.

Tordelli pasta

Tordelli pasta with a meat-based filling served with a meat-based sauce, are a specialty of the Garfagnana, the mountainous region north of Lucca, and almost every family adds its personal touch to the recipe, As one might expect, Massa, which is on the Tuscan coast just to the west of the Garfagnana region, also has tordelli. Tordelli of Versilia have slightly more greens, and also include different vegetables or a chopped porcino mushroom.

Delicatessen

Lardo di Collonata
This product has a delicate flavor, almost sweet, enriched with herbs and spices and fragrant. Its ideal to eat it natural, cut into thin slices. In the past it was considered a simple condiment or relish the "poor" for workers in quarries. Over time it was revalued and now you can enjoy it as a main dish in itself or in unusual combinations, such as with the crustaceans.

Processing is based on techniques developed centuries ago and have remained unchanged. The prime material is of course pork fat: a honeycomb of slits are made in the fat, and sea salt with the spices: pepper, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, sage, rosemary rubbed into them. The sides of the conca, a large tub-like marble pot, are rubbed with garlic before the first layer of salt, herbs and spices is put in it, followed by a layer of fat. Layers of ingreidients are alternated to fill the container, which is closed tightly with a lid.
After no less than six months, the lard is ready. The fat is gleaming white, soft and aromatic. Suprisingly enough, in view of the quantity of salt used, it's very mild as well. This age-old process, the particular climes of the region and the special conca di marmo transform such a basic substance into the unique and highly celebrated "Lardo di Conca di Colonnata", with unique characteristics.

Biroldo
a salami made from pig’s head and flavoured with wild fennel. It has a unique, strong taste. Biroldo salami provides one of the most ancient flavours of the Garfagnana region. It’s principal ingredient is pig’s head with a little heart and tongue. Spices are added to give an extra special flavour, such as wild fennel, cloves, cinnamon, coriander or aniseed. Wild fennel is a fundamental ingredient, whereas use of the other spices varies from village to village.
Today, biroldo is made and eaten fresh, although years ago it was quite common to make it and conserve it in lard. The strong flavour satisfy the more exigent palates.

A soft pork pâté "Spuma di Gota"

This product is unique in Tuscany and is still produced today according to the original 1920s recipe.Spuma di Gota di San Miniato is made by flavouring pig’s cheek and chopping it until it becomes soft and spongy. It is ideal melted on hot toasted bread as a starter. Similar to pâté, it is a typical dish in the Pisan town of San Miniato. The original 1920s recipe calls for salt, bay leaves, and garlic to be added to the pork. The mixture must be left to chill in the fridge for around a week and then left to mature in a cellar for at least five months. At this point the meat is finely chopped with a knife, then ground with a pestle and mortar and more aromatic herbs are added. It is produced between September and May.

Soupes and zuppas

Pappa al Pomodoro

Pappa al Pomodoro is a rustic tomato and bread dish that’s half-way between a soup and a porridge. It’s best made with plump skinned tomatoes, birthed under the Tuscan sun, but it’s also the kind of soul warming meal you crave after trudging home from work on a frigid winter day. A paradox, I know, but one that can be solved with the right ingredients.

It shouldn’t come as any surprise that the secret to a good Pappa al Pomodoro is in the quality of the tomatoes and the bread. While you’d be hard pressed to find much in the way of sun ripened tomatoes in January, a good can of Italian tomatoes and a little honey will get you a convincing rendition of this classic. A forgery to be sure, but one that is good enough in the dead of winter, when your spirit yearns for a little sunshine.

Zuppa di pane - Ribollita
Zuppa di pane and ribollita are two of the best uses for sliced Tuscan bread (crusty, firm of crumb, and without salt). Tuscans make this hearty winter soup (Ribollita is Minestra di Pane reheated) with cavolo nero, black leaf kale, a long-leafed variety of winter cabbage whose leaves are a very dark purplish green. When it's reheated the next day, Minestra di Pane becomes Ribollita, and is even better!

Acquacotta soup

The recipe for this soup goes back to Etruscan times. It is based on seasonal vegetables and extra virgin olive oil. Acquacotta soup is as old as time itself. The Etruscans made it and today it is still a milestone in Tuscan cooking. It’s secret probably lays in the simplicity of its recipe and its natural, local ingredients. Each town has its own version although the most common found in Tuscany is made from onion, tomato, water, extra virgin olive oil, celery, carrot, basil, toasted homemade bread, grated pecorino cheese and an egg.

To truly understand the origins of this soup, we have to go back in time and imagine what it was like to live and work on the land in the Maremma region many, many years ago. As the herds grazed, shepherds would find as many herbs as possible to boil up with perhaps a little lard or bacon, some onion and whatever else was in season and would then pour the soup on to thick slices of toasted bread. The recipe changed according to the season, the climate, what vegetables were available. Depending on what each person had available to them, they would add perhaps some cheese, or some mushrooms, or dried salt cod. Today, acquacotta soup is very popular. Despite many changes over the years, it has managed to hang on to its roots and stay as simple and genuine as ever.

Truffles of San Miniato

Tuscany is a riche area for truffles, known all over the world. There are many specialities including this precious product. It can be applied to the main dish like meats, pastasciutta, vegetable or they may be ground as condiment into sauces, in olive oil, in salami etc.