Tag: Tuscany

Autumn in Tuscany: between ribollita and "stolen" wine – Italian Cuisine

Just over 20 kilometers from Florence there is a resort with widespread hospitality where you can experience the perfect autumn weekend in the Tuscan hills, without ever having to move once you arrive

There Artimino estate, covering 732 hectares, includes a charming hotel within the ancient Paggeria Medicea, about sixty apartments scattered around the charming medieval village of Artimino, the Biagio Pignatta Cucina e Vino gourmet restaurant and a modern and relaxing spa.

But the real draw of this lovely place is Villa La Ferdinanda, a prestigious Medici hunting lodge, built at the end of the 16th century, which since 2013 has obtained the recognition of UNESCO heritage.

The history of "stolen" wine

The Tenuta di Artimino is also one wine destination where the guest has the opportunity to get in touch with viticulture and enjoy unique tasting experiences.

The estate, over 80 hectares, is located in the Carmignano Docg area, an ancient denomination already celebrated by the Medici and the first excellence produced on the estate together with Chianti Montalbano Docg. Over the years, other grapes have also begun to be grown such as Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah and Malvasia.

Among the wines produced, the one with the history most linked to local traditions is Vin Ruspo, a Barco Reale di Carmignano Rosato Doc, so called because it was originally the wine that the farmers "free-hoisted", or "stole" as it filtered from the crates of freshly picked grapes, thus becoming the first wine of the harvest. Today, of course, the process is adapted to modern winemaking, but keeps the traditional idea of a fresh and fruity rosé wine intact.

The wine experience on the estate is truly all-encompassing, as treatments based on grape polyphenols are also carried out inside the spa.

When ribollita is not a soup

The Biagio Pignatta gourmet restaurant, led by executive chef Michela Bottasso, provides a menu linked to contemporary reinterpretations of the classics of the Tuscan tradition: from duck to Caterina de 'Medici to Ribollita alla Carmignanese which, unlike the classic Tuscan one, is not a soup, but is sautéed in a pan and forms a tasty crust.

In the kitchen, the philosophy is that of sustainability, which is why the dishes on offer are made with seasonal vegetables and fruit, grown in the estate's vegetable garden, to always offer seasonal cuisine at zero kilometer.

Autumn is therefore the ideal opportunity to discover or rediscover home-grown wines and other products such as oil, truffles and honey, thanks to a calendar full of special tastings.

Mugello tortelli: a mix of Emilia and Tuscany – Italian Cuisine

Homemade egg pasta and a filling made with potatoes, tomato, garlic and parsley: here's how to prepare this dish of the Tuscan-Emilian culinary tradition

If you have never tried the flavor of Mugello tortelli you don't know what you've been missing so far. The softness of the potatoes, the tomato in the filling, the garlic in the dough: a sinuous dish like the place where they were born, the Mugello.

For those who do not know it, Mugello is in one narrow valley on the hills of Florence, enchanted and beautiful place, full of greenery and surrounded by nature. Its culinary tradition is halfway – given the geographical proximity – between the Tuscan and the Tuscan ones Emilian (hence this type of pasta).

The preparation it is not complicated, but requires some manual skills.

How to make Mugello tortelli

Ingredients

To prepare the tortelli pasta you will need: 500 g of flour 0, 3/4 eggs, 50 g of water, extra virgin olive oil and salt. For the stuffedinstead: 500 g of potatoes, 2 cloves of garlic, 200 g of grated Parmesan cheese, parsley, tomato paste, pepper and extra virgin olive oil.

Method

To prepare Mugello tortelli, of course, you start with pasta. It is placed on a pastry board flour in the classic fountain shape and eggs, water, a little oil and salt are added to the center. Yes knead and let it rest under a cloth.

We then move on to filling preparation boiling the potatoes, peeling them and mashing them with a fork. Separately, while the potatoes are cooling, a fried based on finely chopped oil, garlic and parsley, pepper and a generous spoonful of tomato paste. So you combine this mixture with the potatoes, yes add salt and grated cheese and mix everything.

The preparation of Mugello tortelli continues rolling out the dough: it must be a not very thin sheet and cut into strips about 8 cm wide. We then proceed to fix one stuffing ball every 3 cm and then the sheet folds on itself, letting the air out. At this point we proceed to form the tortelli cutting the dough with the spronella toothed.

The Mugello tortelli then go cooked in salted water for a few minutes and seasoned with a meat sauce.

From Tuscany, the recipe of macaroni alla poderana – Italian Cuisine

Typical of the Maremma, the pasta is topped with an artichoke, broad bean, onion and sausage sauce. Here's how to do it at home

Macaroni alla poderana are one typical Tuscan recipe and, in particular, of the area of Maremma, the central part of the province of Grosseto.

It is a first course rich in taste, with a artichoke sauce, sausage is Fava beans which gives the dish a strong flavor, ideal for a Sunday lunch or a special occasion. The preparation of macaroni alla poderana takes about an hour and the most delicate part is certainly the cleaning of artichokes.

Macaroni alla poderana: the traditional recipe

Ingredients

To prepare macaroni alla poderana you will need: 320 g of macaroni, 6 artichokes, 1 lemon, 100 g of sausage, 50 g of broad beans, 160 g of tomato pulp, parsley, a small onion, salt, pepper, extra virgin olive oil. olive.

Method

To prepare this typical meal of Tuscan cuisine the first thing to do is to clean i artichokes, eliminating the external leaves, too hard, and leaving the internal ones without the tip. Also leave some of the stem of the artichoke and cut everything into wedges, taking care of eliminate beard of the plant and then leaving it aside in a bowl with water and lemon juice so as not to blacken them.

The second phase involves peel the onion and chop it with a parsley stalk, then add the artichokes and continue to chop.

At this point, in a non-stick pan and with extra virgin olive oil, prepare a fried with the freshly chopped preparation to which you can add the crumbled sausage and without the gut and the beans.

Cook everything for about 30 minutes with the lid on slow fire, stirring occasionally.

Add the tomato pulp, season with salt and pepper and continue cooking.

Prepare a pan with salted water to cook i macaroni, drain them al dente e mantecateli in the sauce for at least two minutes before bringing them to the table.