Florentine cuisine
Florentine cuisine acquired a more than local dimension in 1533, when Caterina de’ Medici married Henry of Valois, King of France. Caterina was just 14 years old at the time, but was already fond of good food, and she took some cooks and pastry chefs with her to France. With the arrival of the new queen, France was introduced to the smells and aromas of Florentine court cuisine by way of recipes like salsa colla (now besciamella), onion soup and tongue in dolceforte (‘sweet and strong’).
Florentine cuisine acquired a more than local dimension in 1533, when Caterina de’ Medici married Henry of Valois, King of France. Caterina was just 14 years old at the time, but was already fond of good food, and she took some cooks and pastry chefs with her to France. With the arrival of the new queen, France was introduced to the smells and aromas of Florentine court cuisine by way of recipes like salsa colla (now besciamella), onion soup and tongue in dolceforte (‘sweet and strong’).
The culinary fare of ordinary people was of course very different, and was based on simple, humble ingredients like bread, oil and fresh vegetables. And it was above all this “humble” cooking that was passed down from one family generation to the next, although some more elaborate recipes, like meats in dolceforte, have also survived.
Without a doubt the most celebrated Florentine dish in the world is the Florentine T-bone steak, which must be prepared using top-quality beef (never veal!) cut to a thickness of 5-6 cm and cooked on a charcoal grill, preferably using chestnut wood. It should be rare-done and dressed with salt, pepper and a drizzle of olive oil after cooking.The classic Tuscan first courses are the soup dishes: pappa al pomodoro and ribollita, hot bread-based soups that give way to panzanella in the summer months.
Apart from the steaks, other meats that feature in Tuscan cooking are game, pork (including arista, pork loin cooked in the oven with garlic and rosemary), stews and boiled meats. Florentines also have a passion for livers: pork livers are wrapped in a mesh and cooked on skewers, with abundant bay and slices of bread stuck between the bits of liver. Chicken liver, together with veal spleen, are the base ingredients for the very popular liver pâté canapés, an essential starter generally served with cold cuts like finocchiona, soppressata, sanguinacci, various kinds of ham, salami and sausage.
When Caterina de’ Medici married Henry of Valois, King of France. Caterina was just
14 years old at the time, but was already fond of good food, and she took some cooks and pastry chefs with her to France. With the arrival of the new queen, France was introduced to the smells and aromas of Florentine court cuisine by way of recipes like salsa colla (now besciamella), onion soup and tongue in dolceforte (‘sweet and strong’).
Florentine cuisine acquired a more than local dimension in 1533, when Caterina
de’ Medici married Henry of Valois, King of France. Caterina was just 14 years old at the time, but was already fond of good food, and she took some cooks and pastry chefs with her to France.
With the arrival of the new queen, France was introduced to the smells and aromas of Florentine court cuisine by way of recipes like salsa colla (now besciamella), onion soup and tongue in dolceforte (‘sweet and strong’).
The culinary fare of ordinary people was of course very different, and was based on simple, humble ingredients like bread, oil and fresh vegetables. And it was above all this “humble” cooking that was passed down from one family generation to the next, although some more elaborate recipes, like meats in dolceforte, have also survived.
Without a doubt the most celebrated Florentine dish in the world is the Florentine
T-bone steak, which must be prepared using top-quality beef (never veal!) cut to a thickness of 5-6 cm and cooked on a charcoal grill, preferably using chestnut wood.
It should be rare-done and dressed with salt, pepper and a drizzle of olive oil after cooking.
The classic Tuscan first courses are the soup dishes: pappa al pomodoro and ribollita, hot bread-based soups that give way to panzanella in the summer months.
Apart from the steaks, other meats that feature in Tuscan cooking are game,
pork (including arista, pork loin cooked in the oven with garlic and rosemary),
stews and boiled meats. Florentines also have a passion for livers:
pork livers are wrapped in a mesh and cooked on skewers, with abundant bay and slices of bread stuck between the bits of liver. Chicken liver, together with veal spleen, are the base ingredients for the very popular liver pâté canapés, an essential starter generally served with cold cuts like finocchiona, soppressata, sanguinacci, various kinds of ham, salami and sausage.
And if on your travels you happen to run across a trippaio, ask for tripe Florence-style with sauce, or lampredotto (the fourth part of the cow’s stomach, otherwise known in English as ‘reed tripe’) in a bread roll. These culinary delights are not only served in restaurants and trattorie but also from mobile stalls in streets and squares around the city. Genuine gourmands know that offal, when cooked properly, is a real delicacy!
Of all the various side dishes particular mention must be made of beans, simply boiled and dressed with, or rather drowned in, oil, or cooked all’uccelletto with sage and tomato. Other fine specialities include sweet and sour onions and beets or spinach, which are boiled and then tossed in a pan with oil, garlic and chilli. Desserts include traditional castagnaccio, made with sweet chestnut flour, schiacciata alla fiorentina and the very sweet schiacciata con l'uva (with grapes).
postato da CasaTrattoria @ 16:27
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