Grosseto is considered to be the most beautiful of all the Tuscan provinces. Located at the southern tip of Tuscany, the province is often referred to as the heart of Tuscany and its beauty is well known throughout Italy. The area is home to picturesque towns, natural parks, beaches and excellent, award-winning wines. 

“Le Biancane” is a Nature Park with in the Colline Metallifere located in the province. The Park represents one of the many sites where geothermal activity has modified the landscape. Here energy lies in the earth and vapour emissions rise from the ground. Because of these geological and climatic characteristics, an atypical flora has developed in this area. The name biancane comes from the white color of the rocks that characterizes the entire landscape. The hydrogen sulphide emissions, in fact, erupt from geysers in the ground and turn the limestone into gypsum. The steam that comes out of the rocks is responsible for the characteristic smell of rotten eggs.

The province is also rich with culinary traditions, such the Slow Food Movement and, although it is prevalent all over the world today, the movement was actually born in Italy. Slow Food began with the founding of its forerunner organization, Arcigola, in 1986 to resist the opening of a McDonald’s near the Spanish Steps in Rome. At its heart is the aim to promote local foods and traditional cuisine and food production.

The Slow Food Movement was not, and still is not, only about food, but about life choices. Since its inception, the group has been embracing the values and the lifestyle many Italians associate with their grandparents and their way of life, which is the ultimate goal of “promoting the idea of food as a source of pleasure, culture, history, identity and of a true lifestyle, as well as a way of eating, which is respectful of the land and of local traditions”. (http://www.slowfood.com)

Italian Slow Food Recipes

http://www.turismo.intoscana.it/allthingstuscany/tuscanycious/slow-food-in-tuscany/

Traditional Schiacciata

Ingredients

• 25 g (1 oz) fresh yeast
  
• Pinch of sugar
  
• 310 ml (1 1/4 cups) of water
  
• 500 g (1 lb, 2 oz) bread flour
  
• 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons of salt

Directions

Put the yeast into a bowl with a pinch of sugar. Stir in the water* and leave it to ferment.

Put the flour in a large, wide bowl, or onto a flat surface where you can work with it. Add the yeast, a pinch of salt, and the oil, and mix in to incorporate them well.

Knead the dough for about 10 minutes, until you have a smooth, compact elastic ball. Add a little more flour or water if necessary.

Put the dough into a lightly floured bowl, cover with a cloth, and leave it to rise in a warm place for about an hour and a half, or until it has doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F). Put some oil onto a wide baking pan and spread out the dough with your fingers.

Bake for 20 minutes and while the flatbread is still warm, brush over it with as much olive oil as you prefer and a bit of kosher salt.

Tip* The water must be tepid. To make schiacciata successfully, you should never use extreme temperatures.

Bean Minestrone

6 servings

Ingredients

• Onion (1)
  
• Celery  (about 2 stalks)
  
• Carrots (about 2)
  
• Parsley (one bunch)
  
• Zucchini (2 medium)
  
• Potatoes (2 medium)
• Beets (one bunch)
  
• Kale (about 1 pound/ 400 g)
  
• Head cabbage (1 ½ pounds/ 700 g)
  
• Cannellini beans (about 1 pound/ 400 g)
  
• Tomato puree (a glass)
  
• Wild herbs: such as borage leaves, nettles and plantain (few leaves)
  
• Aromatic herbs (a bunch): fennel, thyme, marjoram, oregano
  
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Extra virgin olive oil

Directions

Boil the beans in abundant water until tender. Drain them (keeping the water), blend half the beans in a food processor and keep 1/2 of the beans whole.

Chop the vegetables into small chunks.

Sauté the onions, celery, parsley and carrots in a pot with extra virgin olive oil.

Add the herbs whole and remove after a few minutes.

Add the potatoes and the rest of the vegetables and sauté for a few minutes.

Add the tomato puree, salt and pepper.

Add the reserved bean liquid and the purèed beans and let the soup cook at a low temperature for an 2 hours. Add the whole beans and heat. Serve or cool and refrigerate.

Wild Boar Stew (Cinghiale in Umido)

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 2 ¼ pounds/1 kg wild boar
  
• ½ pound/200 g onions
  
• ¼ pound/100 g celery
  
• Bay leaves, rosemary, juniper berry
  
• A half glass of wine
  
• Vinegar
  
• Extra virgin olive oil
  
• Salt, pepper, chili
  
• Meat stock
  
• 2/3 pound/ 300 g of peeled tomatoes
  

Directions

Soak the wild boar overnight in water and vinegar with the juniper, bay leaves, celery and rosemary.

Finely chop the onion and celery and sauté in a pan with extra virgin olive oil.

Drain the wild boar and add to the pan and sauté for a few minutes.

Add salt, pepper and chili and sprinkle with wine and let evaporate.

Add the tomato, cover with the meat stock and cook for about one hour and a half.

Wild Boar Sauce Over Pappardelle Pasta

Once the meat is cooked, chop it fine and return it to the sauce. The sauce is traditionally served over wide egg-based pasta, such as Pappardelle.

Arista: Roast Pork

Ingredients

• 2-3 lb lean pork loin
  
• 3 cloves garlic finely chopped
  
• Salt and pepper
  
• Fresh rosemary finely chopped
• 1/4 cup of extra-virgin olive oil

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F/180 degrees C.

Mix the rosemary, garlic, salt and pepper together and rub the pork loin with this mixture. Make short incisions in six places in the meat (use a knife) and stuff a little of the mixture into each opening.

Tie the meat tightly using kitchen twine.

Put the pork loin into a baking pan with some extra virgin olive oil.

Place in the oven and cook for about 1 1/2 hours turning the meat every so often.

Cut the roast into thin slices and serve it with its pan sauce.

Frittelle di Riso

Ingredients

• 2-1/2 cups short grain rice
  
• 6 cups milk
  
• 4 tablespoons sugar
  
• Peel of one lemon (wide strips)
  
• 1 ounce liqueur (sherry, brandy, or amaretto)
  
• 1 cup flour
  
• 1 tablespoon baking flour
  
• Pinch of salt
  
• 6 eggs, separated
• Olive oil for frying

Directions

Bring the rice, sugar, lemon peel and milk to a slow boil. The rice is cooked when all the milk is absorbed.

Place the rice in large bowl, add the liqueur, egg yolks, flour, baking powder and salt.

Mix well and let cool. DO NOT REFRIGERATE.

Whip the egg whites until stiff. Fold the whites into the rice mixture.

In a heavy pan, heat 3 inches of oil for frying. Drop teaspoons of dough into the hot oil.

Fry quickly and remove when they are golden. Do not brown. Drain on paper towels and serve sprinkled with granulated sugar.

They are best hot, but can also be served cold or reheated.

Posted by Jovina Coughlin in Beans, Bread, Cheese, Desserts, fritters, Grosseto, Healthy Italian Cooking, Pasta, Pork, Rice, Soup, Tuscany, Vegetables Tags: cooking the Italianprovinces