Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Tuscan markets conjure up animal parts many wouldn't dream of eating. In the past,
prime beef cuts were the domain of the wealthy and offal was the staple peasant fare: tripe
was simmered for hours with onions, carrots and herbs to make
lampredetto
or with toma-
toes and herbs to make
trippa alla fiorentina -
two classics that are still going strong.
Pasto,
a gruesome mix of
picchiante
(cow's lungs) and chopped potatoes, is not even a
gastronomic curiosity these days - unlike
cibrèo
(chicken's kidney, liver, heart and
cockscomb stew) and
colle ripieno
(stuffed chicken's neck), two dishes that can still be
found. Another golden oldie featured on many a medieval fresco is
pollo al mattone -
boned chicken splattered beneath a brick, rubbed with herbs and baked beneath the brick.
The end result is handsomely crispy.
Cinghiale
(wild boar), hunted in autumn, is turned into
salsicce di cinghiale
(wild-boar
sausages) or simmered with tomatoes, pepper and herbs to create a rich stew.
In Tuscany the family pig invariably ends up on the plate as a salty slice of
soprassata
(head, skin and tongue boiled, chopped and spiced with garlic, rosemary and other herbs
and spices),
finocchiona
(fennel-spiced sausage), prosciutto, nearly black
mallegato
(
spiked with nutmeg, cinnamon, raisins and pine kernels from San Miniato) or
mortadella
(a smooth-textured pork sausage speckled with cubes of white fat).
Lardo di colonnata
(thin slices of local pork fat aged in a mix of herbs and oils for at least six months) is a
treat hard to find outside Tuscany.
Best on Friday: Fish
Livorno leads the region in seafood:
cacciucco
(one 'c' for each type of fish thrown into
it) is the signature dish. Deriving its name from the Turkish
kukut,
meaning 'small fry',
cacciucco
is a stew of five fish simmered with tomatoes and red peppers, served atop stale
bread.
Triglie alla livornese
is red or white mullet cooked in tomatoes, and
baccalà alla
livornese,
also with tomatoes, features cod traditionally salted aboard the ships en route to
the old Medici port.
Baccalà
(salted cod), not to be confused with
stoccofisso
(unsalted
air-dried stockfish) is a trattoria mainstay, served on Fridays as tradition and old-style
Catholicism demands.
Poor Man's Meat: Pulses, Grains & Vegetables
Poor man's meat was precisely what pulses were to Tuscans centuries ago. Jam-packed
with protein, cheap and available year-round (eaten fresh in summer, dried in winter),
pulses go into traditional dishes like
minestra di fagioli
(bean soup),
minestra di pane
