Tag: Tuscany food

Chickpeas Soup Tuscan receipt

Ingredients

200 grams chickpeas, 200 grams thin noodles, 1 clove garlic, a twig of rosemary, tomato paste, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper.

Pour chickpeas in a bowl, cover them with lukewarm water and leave to soften for 24 hours. Drain and cook in 1 litre of water with little salt. When cooked remove. Pour a little bit of oil in a pan, add romsemary and the garlic clove. When the garlic is lightly brown add a tablespoon of tomato paste, which has been dissolved in a glass of warm water. Purèe half of the cooked chickpeas and pour the chickpeas purée in a pan together with the whole chickpeas. Add to the chickpeas the tomato sauce, season with salt (if necessary) and pepper. Return to boil and add the thin noodles, cook for a few minutes. Serve immediately.

One of my favourite first course… to don’t miss!!

Off the Tourist Track – a “Sagra” in Tuscany

On any trip to Italy, it’s a good idea to keep your eyes open for signs and posters advertising a “festa” or “sagra” — these local festivals take place all over Italy between late Spring and late Autumn, and they provide visitors with a great chance to participate in community events that are still relatively free of large groups of tourists… Very funny… not just restaurants…

For example in Montaione, Sagra del tartufo

Learning about Oil in Tuscany

On a glorious afternoon this fall I fell in love with Italian tradition once again. Basking in the beautiful sunshine, I spent time with my  friends learning about and tasting olive oil, at Podere Gli Scassi.

While this age-old tradition is special in its own right, I met a man  who speaks about olive trees, harvesting and oil with such poetic words the farmers before him would surely be honored.

When Lars  Gehrig speaks about his farming techniques and beliefs, his words are filled with respect and admiration for all of the tradition of this  ancient practice. He is impassioned about his lifestyle, living on his olive farm with his wife and family, and even more so about respecting  the earth which gives them their harvest every year.  That afternoon Lars offered us an oil tasting that was straight out of a magazine cover. Situated in the mountains of Pistoia, the farm offers  stunning views of the Tuscan country.

Atable was set outside of the 350-year-old farmhouse for us, complete with wine, oils and  antipasti. While the geese and chickens roamed around the yard we proceeded to taste and learn about the oil which has inspired people  for ages.  The oil produced at Podere Gli Scassi is special because of the family’s approach to farming. They refuse to use pesticides or chemicals  at all.

They also mill the olives in stainless steel, which is beneficial in extending the length of the oil’s freshness as well as preserving  its health benefits. He proudly talks about the low acidity of the oil and the peroxide level, both of which are very important to  the oil’s flavor, freshness and quality.

By tasting other oils alongside his, it is easy to tell in a short amount of time why his oil has won a  gold medal in the Los Angeles County Fair. The oil is so full of flavor and texture I feel as though every drop consumed is a gift.  Our group, most of us being from places outside of Italy, usually tried to buy the best oil we could and enjoyed it. Now, we were experiencing  something so stunning we were speechless.

The taste difference is amazing and inspiring. The flavored oils they produce at  Podere Gli Scassi inspired a lengthy conversation about all the different ways it could be used to enhance our meals and our desserts.  Once you try the lemon oil I feel you will agree that pastry made with this would be divine.

As the sun set and the wine ran out we faced the reality that we must all return to our homes and leave this place. While walking to our  cars, slowly, savoring every moment, it was mutually concluded this experience had changed all of us. It was wonderful to taste the oils  and learn more about the traditions of this beautiful country but more importantly, the time we all spent together on this beautiful farm,  with such a great family, was something so wonderful we will forever carry in our hearts.

From Grapevine

Zuppa alla Frantoiana – Tuscan Recipe –

Although the weather was still warm and sunny here in the Garfagnana, I knew it was autumn from my sudden craving for a thick vegetable soup.
Since you might be feeling the same, here is the story of my soup. It isn’t a recipe, because it must be composed of a judicious selection of what is in season.
A good soup takes time. Plan to relax and indulge in some slow cooking.
What would you do with the time you save by opening a tin that can compare with the feel of getting your hands messy with real ingredients, the challenge of mastering the technique of chopping an onion, the smell at each stage of the cooking, the complex flavours of a well-wrought soup and the enjoyment of savouring it on your own or sharing it with family and friends? My soup begins at Cinzia’s stall in the Bagni di Lucca mercatino where I find new-season cabbages, verza and nero, and zucca and some end of season green beans, fresh borlotti beans and zucchini. Cinzia makes me a present of odori (carrot, celery and parsley) on which every soup is based.
From the shop in my village, which I try to patronise as much as possible, I buy some pancetta, a large onion, garlic and a lemon.
The potatoes and San Marzano tomatoes come from my vegetable patch, and from my fridge a piece of parmesan rind I’d been saving for this moment.
I use Marcella Hazan’s method of compiling a soup, adding ingredients one at a time and allowing them to sauté for 2 or 3 minutes before adding the next.
This develops the flavour of each ingredient and has the added advantage that you can prepare the next ingredient while the previous one is cooking.
But first I shell the borlotti beans and put them to boil with some sage leaves and a whole clove of garlic. They’ll be soft in about 30—minutes, which is just when I’ll need to add them to the soup. I pour enough extra virgin Lucca olive oil to more than cover the bottom of a capacious soup pot.
I never use the cheap industrial oils. After all, I’m not servicing a car; I want the oil to contribute the flavour of olives to the finished soup.
The finely chopped pancetta and thinly sliced onion go into the hot oil together over a medium flame and sauté until soft and lightly coloured and the odour wafting from the pot changes from pungent to sweet. I stir from time to time while preparing the next ingredients and adding them in the following order: chopped carrots, chopped celery, diced potato, diced zucca, diced zucchini, green beans cut in small pieces. With each new ingredient the aroma changes.
I pour boiling water over the tomatoes while shredding the cabbages and adding them. As the moisture comes out of the cabbage, the sound begins to change, less the sizzle of frying and more the hiss of steaming. I turn the flame to low and cover the pot while I skin the tomatoes, remove the seeds, chop them and add them.
My pile of chopped tomato is about the same size as the pile of chopped onion I put in earlier; to my taste tomato is a bully and makes all the other more subtle vegetable flavours cower in a corner.
After about 10 minutes, I add salt and pepper, the liquid from the borlotti beans and enough hot water to cover, toss in the parmesan rind (another Marcella trick), replace the lid and keep it at a very slow boil. I put half the beans through a food mill and add the puree to the pot, reserving the whole beans to add a little later.
After washing up it’s exactly the right time to add the whole beans and make a battuto by chopping finely the parsley, garlic and grated lemon rind, which I scrape into the soup along with a spoonful of tomato paste dissolved in a little water, correct the seasoning and leave it to simmer for another 15 or 20 minutes.
The story is coming to an end. I toast a slice of bread, put it in the bottom of a soup plate, ladle the soup on top and drizzle it with olive oil fresh from the frantoio. I eat the soup and am pleased with the plot.
It will be even better tomorrow after the flavours have had time to marry.

Inspiring food & wine journeys around Tuscany

A CHEF’S HI-LIGHT OF LUCCA (half day morning)

A culinary journey through the winding, cobbled streets of Lucca with tastings of local produce at Roberto’s Delicatezze and Il Forno di Guisti. Visit the authentic wine-cellars of Enoteca Vanni (voted one of the top 3 wine shops in Italy) for a Tuscan wine and olive oil tasting before lunch in one of the best restaurants in town.