WHAT TO YOU EAT IN SUMMER IN TUSCANY?

• Caroline’s Toscana
• 25/06/2019

WHAT TO YOU EAT IN SUMMER IN TUSCANY?

Everybody loves Italian food! Italian cuisine is known worldwide, especially for pizza, pasta and ice cream. But each Italian region offers delicious and unique dishes based on its long history and location and Tuscany’s world-renowned food is no exception!

Famous for its local products and meat, for its simplicity and seasonal food. Tuscan food is based of cucina povera or “poor cooking. Tuscan cooking doesn’t use complicated seasonings or elaborated creations because they’re not needed. Instead it’s made using fresh, high-quality ingredients that bring out the natural flavors in each dish, simple or not.

Those who come back from their Tuscan holiday often want to enjoy the dishes again; There are two options: to go to the nearest Italian restaurant in your homeland, or to cook it yourself and with the help of a recipe to create the Italian atmosphere at home. Mostly, the self-cooked dish does not taste as good as the original, but it doesn't matter. It is important to create the atmosphere and to be back in Tuscany with your thoughts! Bruschette, Tiramisu and Co. are recipes that you can easily cook at home.

So, let’s take a closer look to some traditional Tuscan food: A typical Tuscan Antipasto, perfect for the summer, is e.g. the "bruschetta al pomodoro": tomatoes with basil, garlic, salt and olive oil put on toasted white bread and a few fried sage leaves …. a pleasure! Or if you prefer some melon with Tuscan ham or a simlpy but tasty pomodoro and mozzarella with basil.

The appetizers, are normally followed by the primi piatti, mostly pasta dishes such as: Pasta al pesto or a simple good cold pasta with tomato and mozzarella are perfect for the hot days! Then the secondi piatti, a typical Tuscan summer dish is the Vitello tonnato: Slices of aromatic veal are served in a rich fish sauce made from tuna, capers and anchovy. Finish your meal with classic Tuscan cantucci with vin santo. Dunk these hard almond cookies into a small glass of sweet dessert wine, vin santo, to soften them and clean your palate after a great meal!

What should one do with bread that has become too hard? "Panzanella" the perfect summer dish!

Panzanella recipe:

Serves 4 people

300 g of stale Tuscan bread (a few days old) or any country style bread you can put your hands on

2 ripe tomatoes

1 red onion

1 cucumber

Fresh basil leaves

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Red wine vinegar

Extra virgin olive oil

• Break up the bread and place the pieces into a large bowl. Cover with cold water.
• Finely slice the onion and soak it in cold water, to shade its strong taste. Chop the tomatoes and collect them in a bowl. Slice the cucumber and add it to the tomatoes.
• After 10 minutes, when the bread is soft, squeeze it, crumble it with your hands, put it in a large bowl and dress it with the well-drained onion, the chopped tomatoes, the sliced cucumbers and fresh basil, torn roughly with your hand.
• Season with salt and ground black pepper, and drizzle generously with of extra virgin olive oil, then pour a small quantity of red wine vinegar. Toss and set aside for half an hour in the fridge, then it’s ready to be eaten.

The holiday homes offered by us are not only charming holiday homes but also about bringing the land and traditions closer to the guests. Our guests have the opportunity to attend cooking classes, wine grappa and olive oil tastings and much more!

More info under: www.carolines-toscana.com/services

Together with the arrival description, our guests receive an information folder that we have prepared for you, including many insider tips (….. and special local highlights). Do not worry, even the culinary is not too short, as it is always about food in Italy!

Many of our accomodations are also within walking distance to idyllic little villages, where there is always a good little café and a trattoria. Details under: www.carolines-toscana.com/accommodations/holiday-apartments-and-cottages . Located in central Tuscany, between Pisa and Volterra, near the coast, near Lucca, Chianti, Volterra and San Gimignano (villas with private pool, apartments on an estate, charming B & B rooms... always with a special touch).