Tuscany

Like all Italian regional cuisine, Tuscan food is tied to the land that produces it. Tuscan gastronomy relies heavily on agricultural staples such as cavolo nero, a black cabbage that is easily grown in the area, and the fruit and oil of the olive tree. Bread also plays a significant role in the many hearty dishes of Tuscany, used in salads such as panzanella, soups like pappa al pomodoro, and as a base for all sorts of crostini or bruschetta appetizers.

Every cuisine holds bread in high esteem, relying on it for cheap, gratifying nourishment, but in Tuscany this esteem is elevated to reverence. Bread, used in salads such as panzanella, soups like pappa al pomodoro, and as a base for all sorts of crostini or bruschetta appetizers. Most Tuscan meals begin with crostini, slices of bread that are lightly toasted and topped with anything from spleen to myrtle to olive paste; acquacotta, cipollata, and zuppa di magro are among the many bread-based soups; and then there are dishes like cavolo nero con le fette, boiled black cabbage that grows in Tuscany, seasoned with vinegar and the fruity local olive oil and minced atop toasted garlic-rubbed bread. Tuscan bread is saltless, marrying well with the salty local prosciutto and Pecorino, its tight texture the perfect foil for savory, robust dishes with ample sauce for dipping.

Simplicity and flavor are the guiding principles of Tuscan cooking; salviata, an omelet with the heady perfume of sage, or lesso rifatto con le cipolle, a flavorful stew of leftover boiled beef smothered in long-simmered onions, are classic embodiments of this philosophy.

A standard cooking technique of much of Tuscan cuisine is the grill or wood-burning ovens, with the food being moistened with olive oil during the cooking process. The famous bistecca fiorentina is cooked over a wood fire for just a few minutes. Other meat preparations grilled on skewers show up frequently on Tuscan home menus, like fegatelli di maiale, or pig's liver grilled with bay leaves and pieces of bread.

The arrival of white cannellini beans and tomatoes from the new world changed the face of Mediterranean cuisine and were quickly adopted into "traditional" Tuscan cuisine. The addition of tomatoes to the many different minestroni that have a legume base made them even more flavorful and nutritious. Fagioli al fiasco, or beans in a flask, is a traditional Florentine preparation that renders the beans creamy and tender. A vessel with a thin neck and balloon-like shape is filled with beans, cooking liquid, herbs, and sometimes other aromatics. It is then nestled in the hot ashes of a continually stoked fire. Although you may not have a fire always smoldering at your hearth, you can make fagioli al fiasco in a modern day Pyrex flask on your stovetop.

Florence's sweet bread, schiacciata con l'uva, has been baked since Etruscan times. Zuccotto, an elegant dome-shaped cake filled with a ricotta cream, is traditional, as is schiacciata alla fiorentina, a Lenten cake.

Vin Santo is one of the region's renowned wines, symbol of hospitality and excellent after a meal or with dessert, often served with cantuccini di Prato for dipping. Other important wines are Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, and Vernaccia di San Gimignano.