Tuscan Cuisine

Tuscan cuisine is cucina povera (peasant cooking) perfected: simple ingredients, no waste, maximum flavor. Bread is baked without salt (a tradition since the 12th century when salt was expensive), old bread is used in soups and salads, and every part of the animal is utilized.

Classics

• Bistecca alla Fiorentina — THE meat dish of Italy: a 4–5 cm thick T-bone steak from Chianina beef, only seasoned with salt, pepper, and olive oil, grilled over charcoal. Served rare (al sangue). From €45–60 per kg (a bistecca weighs 800 g–1.2 kg and is intended for 2 people).
• Ribollita — "Reboiled" bread soup with black cabbage (Cavolo Nero), white beans, and vegetables. The ultimate comfort food in winter.
• Pappa al Pomodoro — Tomato-bread soup, simple and divine when the tomatoes are ripe.
• Pici — Thick, hand-rolled pasta, typical of Siena and the Val d'Orcia. Best with Ragù di Cinghiale (wild boar) or all'Aglione (garlic-tomato sauce).
• Schiacciata — Tuscan flatbread with olive oil, perfect as a snack in between.
• Cantucci con Vin Santo — Almond cookies dipped in sweet dessert wine. The perfect end to a Tuscan meal.

Olive Oil

Tuscan olive oil (Olio Extra Vergine di Oliva) is among the best in the world — intensely green, peppery, with a bitter finish. It can be tasted fresh at wineries and oil mills (Frantoi), especially during the harvest (October–November). A good bottle (0.5 l) costs from €12–20.