Culinary Specialities
Another local dish is "Panzanella" made out of stale bread soaked in water, to which is added salad vegetables and herbs, such as onions, basil and catnip, and is dressed with plenty of oil. There is also "Ribollita", toasted slices of bread soaked in bean soup, and "Rivoltolo", a wheat flour dough cooked in oil. Until a little while ago, one could also find a type of flat loaf made of cornflour and cooked between two cabbage leaves. Also presented between two leaves, but of fern, is "Raveggiolo", a type of soft cheese which is traditional in this area. "Bruschetta" is a local version of garlic bread, made from slices of bread toasted over a wood fire, then rubbed with virgin olive oil and garlic. Spit-roast chicken, "nana"( the local dialect word for anatra, or duck) "ocio"(oca, or goose), "porchetta"( roast pork cooked with salt, garlic and rosemary), roast capon, guinea fowl and rabbit, are all types of meat which have "emigrated" from the countryside into the restaurants of city. To these dishes can be added hors d'oeuvre (antipasti)
such as "crostini", savoury toasts with milt or
chickenlivers, main dishes of game and wild mushrooms,
"Pansanto"(slices of bread garnished with
cauliflower and oil and vinegar), the renowned
"bistecca fiorentina", all of which is served
with "ciaccia" (a type of pizza bread brushed
with oil) or typical Tuscan bread, made without salt so
as not to spoil the other flavours. Another important
part of local cuisine are the desserts and cakes,
including "cantucci", hard biscuits with pieces
of almond, which are dipped into the locally-made
Vinsanto, a dessert wine: "lattaiolo", a local
version of crème caramel; "castagnaccio" and
"ciaccia dei morti", cakes made for the Day of
the Dead holidays in November; and "grogetti",
special cakes made for Carnival.
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Country
cooking and simple dishes characterise the food of the
area: flour made from wheat or corn, bread, oil, beans,
milk and ... good wine are amongst the main
ingredients.The local dish par excellence is
"Pici": pasta made from flour and water, which
is rolled out with the palms of the hands into long thin
strands. This rolling is called "appiciare",
from which the pasta derives its name. The same home-made
pasta is used for macaroni or the thin noodles called
"tagliatini".