Carabaccia (Tuscan Onion Soup)

Frankprimi piatti, Soups, Toscana, Winter37 Comments

Carabaccia

Carabaccia is an ancient Tuscan onion soup, going back to the Renaissance. They say it was a favorite of Leonardo da Vinci—and that, as for so many other classic dishes,  the recipe was brought by Catarina de’  Medici to France, where it evolved into the soupe à l’oignon we all know and love today. You … Read More

Peposo (Peppery Tuscan Beef Stew)

Franksecondi piatti, Toscana44 Comments

Peposo (Tuscan Beef Stew)

This Tuscan beef stew has a long history. The story goes that it was invented by the furnace workers (fornaciai) who baked the terracotta tiles for the Brunelleschi’s famous Duomo in Florence. They mixed roughly cut up beef shank, salt, lots of black pepper and red wine—Chianti, of course—in terracotta … Read More

Zuppa inglese (Italian Trifle)

Frankdessert, Emilia-Romagna, Toscana42 Comments

Zuppa inglese (Italian Trifle)

Zuppa inglese, literally “English soup”, is actually neither English nor a soup. It is a classic Italian dessert, but the name is apt nevertheless. Its texture is very reminiscent of the bread-thickened soups so typical of the cookery of central Italy, only sweet and cool rather than savory and hot—a … Read More

La ribollita (Tuscan Minestrone)

Frankprimi piatti, Soups, Toscana15 Comments

Ribollita

We’ve already gone over the basic recipe for minestrone on this blog. Once you’ve mastered that, it is a lot of fun to explore the many varieties of minestrone from all over Lo Stivale (meaning ‘the boot’ one of the many nicknames Italians give to their country). Perhaps the most delicious … Read More