Tuscan cuisine

Tuscany signs the true border between the North and the South of Italy, both geographically and culturally speaking.
Here man lives in complete harmony with Nature: respectful of it, he interacts with Nature without violence, with a light hand.
On the other side, Nature here is particularly generous: with its incomparable beauty and its abundant fruits.
The Tuscan cuisine was born from this union and so, more than in many other regions, it can be described as a "farmer" cuisine, simple and refined at the same time.
Florence actually signs the first step into the southern traditions: while all over the North until Bologna the fat used for cooking is butter, once past the Appennines olive oil becomes "king of the kitchen".
It is from the country that the bitterish taste of the oil comes. Let's take, for instance, the "Ribollita" (reboiled vegetable soup): maybe a feminine invention featuring the semplicity and the long times typical of the earth's produce. Stale bread and vegetables, leftovers from previous days's poor meals: that's what ribollita consists of. But it is made exquisite and precious by the addition of fresh extravirgin olive oil. Bread and leftovers are blessing of God, they cannot be thrown away.
And what about the delicate white beans - fagioli all'uccelletto - gently and slowly cooked in terracotta pots in the fireplace where the ashes of olive branches give the dish its special taste?
Only a scent of sage, a pinch of salt and the extravirgin olive oil give this simple side dish an intense and light flavour.
Well, every region then has its "ham"! In Tuscany the prosciutto has a particular subtle yet strong taste due to the fact that pigs graze in the grass of the hills.
But let's say a couple of words about the renowned crostini: the toasted slices of bread in Tuscany are typically topped with chicken liver patè (or game liver soaked in broth): the sour-sweet taste so appreciated in the Middle Ages; a taste that became popular in France when Catherine dè Medici, marrying Francis I exported some traditions and customs from Florence to the French Court.
Impossible then not to mention the Florentine t-bone steak ("bistecca alla Fiorentina") topped with porcini mushrooms and accompanied by the most famous wine produced in the region: the Brunello (but also a good Chianti Riserva, - the aged version of the regular Chianti- wouldn't disappoint the finest palate!).
As for the "pasta" dishes, from the pappardelle to the pici - both kinds of homemade pasta - what makes them typically Tuscan recipes is the sauce: hare, wild boar or ragù sauce are the best ones to get a perfect match with the larger (pappardelle) and the thicker (pici) versions of the noodles.
One mention goes to some dishes which do not meet everybody's tastes: trippa (tripe), lampredotto and a variety of delicatessen (as the "soprassata") are recipes featuring intestines herbs and spices...if you have guts to eat that!!
The last, but not the least: fried food. Porcini mushrooms, artichokes, onions, chicken, zucchini flowers, eggplants, green tomatoes: the fresh, genuine vegetables gently and lightly fried in the excellent local oil, are pure delight!
In general, the Tuscan cuisine is not rich or varied, but genuine, simple and tasty. Farmers have learned, in centuries of hard working on the land, that nature is generous but can also let down their expectations; so they learned a lesson of parsimony and thriftyness in the preparation of the dishes. They are never greasy, and the portions are never too big. The Tuscans are more gourmets than eaters. They do not like to eat just for eating sake, but enjoy staying at the table with their fellow guests.
Buon appetito! Rina