The Tastes of Tuscany (Part One) by Elise Warner The December air is crisp and the moon is full, lighting our way between the fields to a family-owned farmhouse in Monte Carlo, near Pistoia. Elena, an effervescent blonde, welcomes us to dinner at the Podere Villa Fredda. We're seated at long picnic tables in a well-heated tent and Elena talks about Tuscan food, wine, and Pisa-a rival since a war fought in 1003. Most of all, Elena talks about Tuscan olive oil: cold-pressed olive oil, extra-virgin olive oil, olive oil soap and lotion, and olive oil for cooking, baking, and dipping. "Olive oil," she tells us, "will keep you young, beautiful; much better than a plastic surgeon." Ribollita:
Bread and Vegetable Soup
Serves six:
2 cups wet cannellini (white beans) 2 cups wet borlotti (pinto beans)
half a Savoy cabbage 1 sprig thyme 1 leek 1 lb Swiss chard
3 ripe tomatoes 1 onion 2 carrots 2 potatoes, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic 2 stalks celery whole wheat bread
salt, pepper extra-virgin olive oil 1. Soak the beans overnight and rinse thoroughly, then cook in six cups of water.
2. Strain ¾ of the beans through a sieve, put back in the cooking water. Save the remaining beans.
3. Sauté the finely chopped onion and a clove of garlic in 8 tablespoons of oil in a large pot. When golden, add the sliced celery, carrot, and leek.
4. Sauté and then add the chopped tomatoes, Swiss chard, cabbage, potatoes, thyme, salt, pepper.
5. Pour in the liquid from the beans and cook slowly for one hour. If necessary, add a little warm water. Add the beans after 45 minutes.
6. Place slices of bread in the bottom of the soup bowls and cover the bread with half the soup. Cover with a second layer of bread and the rest of the soup.
7. Let the soup stand for a moment before serving. A drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and thinly sliced onions may be added according to taste. Enjoy! |
Bread is placed on the table; Pane casalingo Toscano (Tuscan housewife's bread) has holes inside the size of a bull's eye. The bread becomes hard after a day and is used in mouth-watering recipes such as ribollita (bread and vegetable soup-see the recipe in the box above) menestrone di pane, and pappa al pomodoro (bread and tomato soup). Did you know…? Tuscan bread is made with white flour and no salt. This practice dates back to medieval times when the Papal States levied a tax on the salt trade and the city-states of Tuscany rebelled. Tuscan bakers still bake their bread without salt because Tuscans now prefer the taste. |
"Buona Fortuna!"
Bottles of wine are opened-Chianti and Vernaccia (pale yellow with a refreshing, dry taste, produced and sold locally, and exported to Europe). "Salute!" "Buona Fortuna!" we toast. Plates of crostino (toasted rounds of bread), glistening with olive oil and slivers of garlic, disappear quickly, followed by salad with locally grown olives. Homemade pasta is served and a country ragu (meat sauce made with sweet Italian tomatoes), but I dig into a pomarola of sweet Tuscany tomatoes. Heaping platters
For the main course come heaping platters of barbecued meat and frittata con zucchini. Vin Santo (the wine of Saints) follows, made from ripe, white grapes left to dry for nearly four months then pressed and poured into chestnut barrels for fermentation; Amber in color, its scent is that of dried figs and candied fruit. Cantucci, a twice-baked biscuit also called biscotti, accompanies the Vin Santo; the crunchy, almond or hazelnut-flecked biscuit is traditionally dunked into the wine. The music invites us to dance, and we feel virtuous; the dancing will burn off the calories we've just added. If you go …
Podere Villa Fredda, Via Castel Biagini, 2 - loc. Cantagrill, 51034 Serravalle, Pistoia; tel: 0573-531687; website: www.agriturismobaldi.com/Agriturismo.htm ; email: fbaldi@dada.it
The Villa is one of two locations that are part of Agriturismo Baldi Franco in the Canapale district. One is almost 2 miles from Pistoia, the other 3 miles. Pistoia is approximately 22 miles northwest of Florence. P.S. Read our next issue to get more of a taste of Tuscany… |
