Mensam Mundum – World Table: The flavors of Tuscany
- Esther Oertel
- Posted On
Italy’s geography is often described as a boot kicking the island of Sicily. If that’s true, then Tuscany is the area along the western coast just above Italy’s knee.
Famous for its artistic legacy, historical cities and breathtaking landscapes, it’s also known, though perhaps less so, for its simple cuisine with cooking traditions that date back thousands of years.
The city of Florence, once the center of the Italian Renaissance and home to Michelangelo and Leonardo di Vinci, now serves as Tuscany’s regional capital. Other cities in the region which have names that may be familiar to us are Siena, Pisa (of Leaning Tower fame), Livorno and Lucca.
Until the Kingdom of Italy was established in 1861 (of which Florence was also capital), what is now Italy was a collection of separate regions, each with its own traditions and cuisines. For that reason, Tuscany, like all Italian regions, has its own ingredients, recipes and hyper-local food traditions.
The name Tuscany derives from Etruscan, the moniker of the people (likely from Asia Minor), who settled the area in approximately 1,000 BCE.
The Etruscans cultivated legumes (chiefly chickpeas, lentils, and beans), grains such as millet, barley, and spelt, and a variety of fruits and vegetables. They also planted olive trees for oil and grapes for wine.
They raised sheep, goats, pigs, and cattle for milk and meat, and caught wild game, which they cooked over braziers.
The cuisine established by the Etruscans didn’t change much through the centuries, even when Roman colonization was taking place.
Later during the Renaissance when chefs prepared elaborate dishes for nobles, Tuscan cuisine remained simple. Simplicity still defines Tuscan cooking.
This straightforward, uncomplicated and frugal cuisine is based on peasant (or poor) cooking, known as “cucina povera” in Italian, where available ingredients are used to make large batches of inexpensive dishes.
Flavors are understated, and favorite aromatics such as thyme, rosemary and fennel are used sparingly.
Food is never squandered; in fact, many quintessential Tuscan dishes were created to avoid waste.
Fagioli bianchi (white beans, also known as cannellini beans) were introduced to Tuscany in the 1500s via Spain. They’ve become well-integrated in Tuscan cuisine, so much so that Tuscans are called mangiafagioli, or “bean eaters.”
Cannellini beans can be found in dishes such as zuppa di fagioli (bean soup) and fagioli all’uccelletto, a side dish of beans stewed with tomatoes, garlic and sage.
Tuscans are extremely fond of soups, and two favorites in the region are ribollita Toscana (Toscana means Tuscany in Italian) and pappa al pomodoro.
Ribollita Toscana is one of Tuscany’s most beloved soups, a winter medley featuring greens (often kale), beans, celery, carrots, onions, stale bread to thicken it, and plenty of olive oil.
The soup is meant to be reheated (ribollita means “cooked twice”) and the soup is cooked again the next day for a second meal.
Pappa al pomodoro is a soup made with tomatoes (pomodoro means tomato in Italian), garlic, olive oil, and, like ribollita, stale bread to thicken it. It has a creamy, comforting consistency, so it’s not surprising that it’s dubbed pappa, the Italian word for baby food.
Olive oil is ubiquitous in Tuscan recipes and is liberally used throughout the region, so I was surprised to learn that Tuscany produces only about four percent of Italy’s olive oil.
The lower olive yield from Tuscan trees means that oil from that region has a greater concentration of flavor and aroma, making its taste more pronounced.
If you’ve ever purchased an olive oil that’s a blend of Tuscan olives, you’ve likely noticed this.
Traditional Tuscan bread omits a key ingredient: salt. Saltless bread is unique to the region and, needless to say, its taste is unusual.
There is no definitive answer to why the tradition of bread without salt began in Tuscany, though some say it’s because of the steep taxation on this highly prized commodity during the Middle Ages.
Sheep’s milk cheese, known as pecorino, is plentiful in Tuscany. From soft and buttery to sharp, tangy, or firm, all are delicious with saltless bread.
Seafood is popular in coastal Tuscany, and in the port town of Livorno a tomato-laced everything-you-can-assemble seafood soup called caccuicco is the signature dish.
All manner of fish, as many types as possible, are thrown into a pot. Head, bones, and all are pureed for the broth. Scorpionfish, monkfish, mullet and other rockfish are some of the common varieties used, but the soup varies depending on the catches of the day.
It may have been in Sicily where squid ink was first infused into pasta, but it’s something that’s done in Tuscany, too, particularly along the coast.
Tuscans love rice, and a version of risotto made there also includes squid ink. Squab and chicken livers also find their way into Tuscan risotto dishes.
The Chianina, an Italian breed of cattle, is raised for meat in Tuscany. It’s one of the oldest and largest breeds in the world, and Tuscany’s famous bistecca alla fiorentina (beefsteak Florentine style) is produced from its meat.
Bistecca alla fiorentina is a T-bone steak grilled over a wood or charcoal fire and finished with a generous splash of olive oil. Thickly cut and large, it’s typically served to two or more people and is accompanied by Tuscan beans as a side dish.
The region is rich with game meats, including wild boar, hare, deer, and pheasant, which are used in pasta dishes and stews. Ham is also made from wild boar.
As in many Italian regions, a plethora of cured meats are made from pork. Tuscan specialties include prosciutto di bardotto, made from a hybrid pig born of a domesticated sow and a wild boar, and finocchiona, pork salami spiced with wild fennel, reputed to be delicious with saltless Tuscan bread.
Tortelli, a stuffed pasta, is a regional specialty similar to ravioli. The difference is that tortelli is made in a variety of shapes, while ravioli is typically square or round.
The name is believed to have originated from “torta,” a savory Medieval pie. Tortelli is one of the original stuffed pastas, traced back to the Middle Ages.
The fillings and shapes depend on the region, or even town, where the pasta is made.
Common Tuscan fillings include potatoes, ricotta cheese, spinach, or prosciutto. Sauces can be made with tomatoes, mushrooms, or broth, or simply butter with cheese or sage.
Tuscans make appetizers a priority. Meals start with crostini (toasted bread) lavished with liver pate, black olives, artichoke paste, dried tomatoes, or olive oil and garlic. Cold cuts of meat (such as salami or prosciutto) often serve as appetizers.
One of Italy’s best wines, Brunello di Monalcino, is produced in the Tuscan region. Chianti, a Sangiovese-based red wine, is probably the best-known Tuscan wine internationally.
Desserts can range from zuccotto, a beautifully molded frozen cake originating in Florence, to a simple flatbread studded with grapes baked since Etruscan days.
Castagnaccio, chestnut flour cake, hails from the mountains of Tuscany where chestnuts used to be the main resource. The sweetness comes from the flour itself and the added golden raisins and pine nuts. The cake is finished with an olive oil drizzle and a sprinkle of rosemary.
Vin santo, translating to holy wine, is a dessert wine unique to Tuscany. Cantucci, the Tuscan version of the twice-baked biscuit we know as biscotti, can be dipped in a small glass of vin santo to finish a meal.
And finally, we can’t speak of Tuscany without noting that truffles, among the most expensive foods in the world, are found there.
Both black and white truffles, or tartufo, grow in Tuscany.
Italian white truffles are rare and elusive, with a short season of just over a month. This makes them highly prized and far more expensive than black truffles, at times reaching a market price of more than $4,000 per kilo (roughly 2.20 pounds).
White truffles have a gentle, earthy flavor that’s so subtle that they should never be cooked, a shelf life of only ten days and, unlike black truffles, can’t be frozen.
Truffles can’t be cultivated, so hunters with trained dogs must locate them.
While pigs have sensitive noses for truffles, their rooting ruins the delicate mycelia, the spore-holding web necessary for the fungi’s reproduction.
Today’s recipes don’t include truffles, but I hope they’ll be valuable in your repertoire.
Panzanella, a Tuscan bread salad, was created as a way to utilize stale bread, and is the first recipe. While there are many versions of this dish, I’m sharing the one I created years ago for a class on no-cook summer side dishes.
The second recipe is for simple and rustic mini Tuscan cheese souffles, which I found to be a wonderful accompaniment to the bread salad.
Unlike a traditional French souffle, egg whites aren’t beaten and folded into the mixture. Hence, the souffles are more quichelike; in other words, denser and not as risen.
I got the recipe from Rustico Cooking, a culinary tour website, but it’s originally from the Ristorante Logge del Vignola in Montepulciano, a Renaissance mountain town in the Siena province of Tuscany.
I wasn’t able to find all the ingredients at my local market (there was no smoked mozzarella or young pecorino Toscano), so I used regular mozzarella (not fresh) and pecorino Romano. Pecorino Romano is a hard, aged cheese and likely saltier than the cheese in the recipe. I learned that salt was unnecessary with that substitution.
One more note: I didn’t have 12 ramekins, so I used a muffin tin.
Enjoy!
Tuscan Bread Salad with Summer Vegetables (Panzanella)
Ingredients
About 6 cups of bite-sized pieces of bread (choose a rustic loaf that will hold up well)
2 cups torn basil leaves
1 cup red onion, diced
1 cup cucumber, cut lengthwise into quarters and sliced (roughly one medium cucumber)
2 cups diced ripe tomatoes (garden, on-the-vine or heirloom are recommended)
¼ cup capers
1 cup bite-sized pieces of fresh mozzarella
Pine nuts for garnish (optional)
Dressing
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Fresh ground pepper and coarse salt to taste
The trick to this salad is being sure all ingredients are bite sized. You can use day old bread if you have it, or the bread may be toasted in an oven or on an outdoor grill. Sliced bread is not recommended. Make the dressing first to allow the flavors to combine. Mix ingredients together first and then add dressing. If using pine nuts, sprinkle over top of plated salad just before serving. (If desired, toast pine nuts first.)
Tuscan Cheese Souffle
Nonstick spray for greasing the ramekins
¼ cup fresh breadcrumbs, plus extra for the ramekins
1 pound whole-milk Ricotta
1 cup freshly grated young Pecorino Toscano
¼ pound smoked Mozzarella, coarsely grated
4 large eggs
¼ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 sage leaves, thinly sliced
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Generously grease twelve 1-cup ramekins with nonstick spray and sprinkle with the breadcrumbs.
In a large bowl, beat together the Ricotta, Pecorino, smoked Mozzarella, eggs, salt, pepper, sage and the ¼ cup of breadcrumbs. Spoon into the prepared ramekins and place the ramekins on a large ovenproof tray. (The soufflés can be prepared up to this point 12 hours ahead and refrigerated.)
Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until golden, puffed, and set. Serve the soufflés hot. Serves 12.
Esther Oertel is a writer and passionate home cook from a family of chefs. She grew up in a restaurant, where she began creating recipes from a young age. She’s taught culinary classes in a variety of venues in Lake County and previously wrote “The Veggie Girl” column for Lake County News. Most recently she’s taught culinary classes at Sur La Table in Santa Rosa, Calif. She lives in Middletown, Calif.