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FLORENCE FOOD GUIDE: TUSCAN RECIPEES...

Missing the taste of the Typical Italian Recipees you tried while in Florence? Here are some Tuscan recipees with typical Florentine and Tuscan ingredients for Casa Howard Florence guesthouse customers to try at home!

Pappa col pomodoro (for 6 people)

Ingredients:

• Stale home-made bread, 500grs.
• Fresh ripe tomatoes, 800 grs.
• 3 garlic cloves
• 8 basil leaves
• a pinch of ginger
• 1 teaspoon of tomato paste
• 1 and ½ lt. of broth
• 1 glass of extra-virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper

 

Preparation:

• Lightly brown the garlic cloves in the olive oil
• Add the tomatoes, previously peeled and cut in small pieces, the paste and the basil
• Add salt, pepper and ginger and let cook for apx. 15 minutes
• Add the hot broth and right before the boiling point, add the bread thinly cut
• Let cook for 10 minutes more or until the liquid is absorbed
• Stir or “frustare” (“ to whip”) all.
• Serve warm, adding a bit of olive oil. Don’t use any cheese.

Ribollita di Zuppa alla Contadina (for 6 people)

Ingredients:

• Stale home-made bread, 300 grs.
• Dry white kidney beans, 350 grs.
• 6 small bunches of chard
• 1 black cabbage
• ½ savoy cabbage
• 3 celeries
• 4 carrots
• 4 potatoes
• 2 ripe tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon of tomato paste
• 1 onion
• ½ red chili pepper
• 1 small bunch of thyme
• 1 glass of extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves
• salt and pepper

Preparation:

• brown the onion with the red pepper in the olive oil
• then, add the tomato paste and the tomatoes
• after a few minutes, add the beans previously boiled and drained and all the vegetables, previously washed and cut in relatively small pieces
• add 5 ladles of cold water and the rest of the ingredients
• let cook for at least 2 hours
• serve in earthenware bowls on two slices of toasted bread lightly rubbed with garlic
• some olive oil may be added on top, no cheese

The day after, the ribollita:

• on top of the remaining soup (mixed with the bread), in the bowl, put thin slices of onion, black pepper and olive oil
• put them in the oven until the onion is golden.

Lepre in Dolceforte (for 4 people)

Ingredients:

• ½ a hare (1.5 kilos apx.)
• “prosciutto”, 30 grs.
• Raisins, 40 grs.
• Grated plain chocolate, 30 grs.
• Pines, 30 grs.
• Candied cedar and orange, 20 grs.
• Sugar, 50 grs.
• ½ onion
• ½ big carrot
• 2 celeries
• 1 small bunch of parsley
• flour
• 1 glass of red wine vinegar
• extra-virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper

Preparation:

• chop the herbs and the prosciutto and put them in the hot olive oil (6 spoons) together with the pieces of hare, salt and pepper
• when all these ingredients have browned, take them out of the oil, throw the most oil, and pour some flour on them
• cook them and add some water from time to time
• while the hare is cooking, prepare the “dolceforte”, even though it is better to prepare it the day before:
• mix in a glass the pines, raisins, chocolate, candied fruits, sugar and vinegar (a small quantity)
• add the dolceforte to the rest and let them cook together for a short time, in order for the tastes to amalgamate.

Crespelle alla Fiorentina (for 4 people)

Ingredients:

• spinaci, 300 grs.
• Ricotta, 200 grs.
• Flour, 100 grs.
• Butter, 80 grs.
• 4 eggs
• 1 glass of milk
• ½ lt. Béchamelle
• a small quantity of tomato sauce
• grated parmesan
• nutmeg
• salt and pepper

Preparation:

• in a bowl mix the spinaci previously cooked and ground, the ricotta, 2 eggs, 3 spoons of grated parmesan, salt, pepper and nutmeg
• prepare the “crespelle”, mixing 2 eggs, the milk, 50 grs. of melted butter, the flour and a little of salt. The deriving batter should be very smooth.
• Butter a small pan and put a thin layer of batter on it; cook the “crespella” on both sides. Repeat until all the batter has been used.
• Fill the crespelle with the mix and roll them. Lay them one beside the other on a heat-resistant pan and pour the béchamelle on them.
• Pour some grated parmesan and a little of tomato sauce; put them in the oven to gratinate for about 20 minutes.

 

Schiacciata alla Fiorentina

Ingredients:

• Flour, 250 grs.
• Sugar, 120 grs.
• lard, 80 grs.
• Orange peel
• Icing sugar
• 1 spoon of orange liquor
• 1 bag of vanilla sugar
• 1 bag of yeast (the natural baking soda)
• salt
• 2 glasses of orange juice
• 2 eggs

 

Preparation:

• make a heap of flour, pouring the yeast in its middle with a little water
• work on the dough adding some water from time to time, if necessary
• let rise for approximately 2 hours
• work again on the dough, adding the egg yolks, the lard, the grated orange peel, the orange juice, the liquor, a little salt and the vanilla sugar
• in a baking pan with low edges, previously buttered and covered with flour, pour the dough at a maximum thickness of 2 cms
• cover the pan for 1 and ½ hour
• put in the oven for approximately ½ hour
• serve warm with icing sugar on top

Panzanella

Ingredients:

• stale home-made bread
• fresh ripe salad tomatoes
• fresh basil
• fresh florentine red onion
• fresh cucumber
• extra-virgin olive oil
• vinegar
• salt and pepper

Preparation:

• cut the bread in slices and let it soak in cold water for approximately 15 minutes
• take out the slices and wring them
• put the bread in a bowl and mix all the vegetables previously cut and the basil
• add the olive oil, salt and pepper and mix very well; put the bowl in the fridge
• add the vinegar when serving it.

Bistecca alla Fiorentina

Ingredients:

• young beef, “chianino”, if possibile, and ripened 5 to 6 days
• its cut is in the loin with the fillet, the “controfiletto” and the T bone in its middle (this cut is not found outside Tuscany)
• its dimensions: from 600 to 800 grs., not more, and of 2 fingers high

Preparation:

• simply put it on the hot grill (charcoal with no flame) for 5 minutes
• turn it on the other side and put some salt on the cooked part
• after 5 more minutes turn it again and salt the other side
• the result should be a grilled meat outside and “al sangue” (“bloody”) inside
• some black pepper can be added and perhaps a little lemon juice.

Tortelli (for 8 people)

Ingredients:

Filling

• lean veal meat, 400 grs.
• Ricotta, 100 grs.
• Chard, previously boiled and squeezed, 200 grs.
• Grated parmesan, 100 grs.
• Grated pecorino, 20 grs.
• Butter, 50 grs.
• 3 eggs
• nutmeg
• salt and pepper

"Pasta"

• white flour, type 0, 800 grs.
• 6 eggs
• salt

Preparation:

• brown the veal in the butter adding a little of broth to cook it better
• ground the meat very well and put it again in its broth
• put everything in a bowl; add the ricotta, the chard, previously ground, the cheeses, the eggs, salt, pepper and a bit of nutmeg: mix all the ingredients very well
• prepare the dough for the “tortelli” and make it into a very thin layer; and cut it in the shape of tortelli, very similar to that of raviolis
• fill the tortelli with the mix
• boil the tortelli for a few minutes only, and they’ re ready
• they are perfect with a “sugo di carne” (meat sauce), and also with “burro e salvia”, “butter and sage”.

Alchermes di Firenze

Ingredients:

• cinnamon, 12 grs.
• Coriander, 10 grs.
• Alquermes, 7 grs.
• Macis, 3 grs.
• Cloves, 2.5 grs.
• Sweet orange peel, 5 grs.
• Anis flower, 3 grs.
• Cardamom, 10 grains
• Vanilla, ½ stick
• 95 degrees pure alcohol
• sugar, 600 grs.
• Rose water, 100 grs.

Preparation:

• grind all the ingredients, except the vanilla, in a mortar and put all in a bottle with the alcohol and 300 grs. of pure water, with the vanilla cut in small pieces
• Cover the bottle and let the infusion rest for 2 weeks, moving the bottle every day
• After this period of time, let the sugar melt in ½ lt. of pure water and add it to the infusion; shake well and let it rest for another day
• Then, filter the liquor with a paper cone and add the rose water

Arista (for 6 people)

Ingredients:

• Pork loin (arista), 1.5 kilo
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 small rosemary branches
• extra-virgin olive oil
• salt
• black pepper grains

Preparation:

• chop the rosemay, garlic, 2 spoons of salt and pepper
• cut from the bone the “controfiletto”, the biggest part, with a very sharp knife, and put on the bone the ground mix
• put the meat again on the bone and tie it very narrow; make small but deep holes in the meat and fill them with the mix
• finish the mix with the hands all over the loin, adding a bit of olive oil and put the loin in the oven (170 degrees centigrades)
• from time to time pour the oil that comes out of the meat on the loin, and when it is close to being completely cooked, raise the temperature.

Anatra all’Arancia

Ingredients:

• 1 duck, 2 kilos apx.
• 5 oranges
• 2 spoons of sugar
• 1 small onion
• 1 medium carrot
• 1 celery
• 1 small branch of sage
• ½ glass of Brandy
• ½ glass of white wine
• extra-virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper

Preparation:

• fill the duck, previously plucked, cleaned off of its entrails, without the head and the feet, and washed and dried, with half orange cut in small slices, the sage and salt and pepper; close it with a thread so that the wings and the legs adhere to the body
• add some salt and pepper all over the duck and after putting on some olive oil, put it in the oven at a medium temperature
• after 1 and ½ hour, and after having moved it from time to time and having poured some brandy on it before taking it out, take the duck out of the pan and keep it warm
• brown the chopped mix of herbs and vegetables and when the onion starts to have a golden colour, add the sugar and the rest of the oranges (peeled-off and cut into round slices), and while cooking them, add the white wine
• when it is evaporated, sift it and make it boil for 5 minutes more
• then, add the duck again, this time cut in four pieces
• serve it very hot, with the creamy sauce on top and some slices of orange.

Cenci

Ingredients:

• flour, 300 grs.
• 2 eggs
• sugar, 50 grs.
• 2 spoons of Vin Santo
• extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 lemon or orange peel
• salt
• frying oil

Preparation:

• make a heap of flour and add in its middle the sugar, the eggs, the lemon peel, previously grated, 3 spoons of olive oil and the Vin Santo
• work the dough well, leave it in the form of a ball for ½ hour
• roll out the dough until it is reduced to a thickness of 2 mms
• cut the dough in slices of two fingers width and then cut these slices horizontally in other slices of four fingers width
• fry them in a very hot oil until they reach a golden colour, then take them out and let them dry
• pour some icing sugar on them.

Fagioli all’uccelletto (the traditional recipee; for 4 people)

Ingredients:

• fresh cannellini beans, 1 kilo or 400 grs. dry
• ripe or peeled tomatoes, 200 grs.
• 1 sage
• 2 garlic clives
• extra-virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper

Preparation:

• brown the garlic cloves and the sage in an earthenware pan, in 5 spoons of olive oil
• then, add the tomatoes without seeds and peel
• cook the sauce and add the beans, previously prepared in cold and salted water with also a spoon of olive oil
• add salt and pepper and let cook for 15 minutes more, making sure that everything amalgamates well.

Carabaccia (for 4 people)

Ingredients:

• 3 big onions
• 4 celeries
• 2 medium carrots
• peas, 300 grs.
• 4 eggs
• home-made bread
• extra-virgin olive oil
• grated parmesan
• salt and pepper

Preparation:

• chop the onions, the celeries and the carrots
• put all in an earthenware pan together with ½ glass of olive oil, add salt, pepper, cover and let cook very slowly for an hour; move but don’t add water
• a few minutes before the mix is cooked, add the peas, previously prepared and sifted
• toast 4 slices of bread, and, after having quickly wet them in warm water, lay them in the bowls
• cover the bread slices with the carabaccia, put a poached egg on top and cover with grated parmesan

The original is also with:

• ground almonds “ambrosine” (400 grs.)
• cinnamon 15 grs.
• Sugar and cinnamon to pour over the carabaccia instead of the parmesan.

 

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