Mom's Tuscan Recipes
CASTAGNACCIO
Ingredients:
250 g OF CHESTNUT FLOUR; 20 g OF PINE NUTS; 50 g OF WALNUTS; RAISINS (to taste); 400 ml OF WATER; 1 SPRING OF ROSEMARY, A PINCH A SALT; EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL.
Procedure:
Preheat the oven to 180°C (356°F). Sift the chestnut flour into a large bowl, add a pinch of salt, slowly pour in the water, and mix. Generously grease a round baking pan about 26 cm (10 in) in diameter with oil and pour in the batter, spreading it evenly. Sprinkle with rosemary, walnuts, and pine nuts; drizzle a light layer of oil on top. Bake in the preheated oven for about 25–30 minutes, until the chestnut cake is dry on the surface and has a wrinkled texture. It can be served warm or even almost cold.
CECINA
Recipe for 4 people
Ingredienti:
300 g of chickpea flour, about 900 g of water, extra virgin olive oil, salt. 2 baking pans of about 28 cm in diameter.
Procedure:
Place the water in a container, slowly pour in the flour, stirring constantly with a whisk; add 1 teaspoon of salt and 30 g of oil. Cover the mixture with plastic wrap and let it rest at room temperature for about 5-6 hours. Remove the foam that forms and pour the mixture into the 2 baking pans, which should be well greased with oil. Place the 2 pans in the oven at about 250°C (482°F) for 15-20 minutes.
Cut and serve.
SPELT SALAD
Recipe for 6 people
Ingredients:
500 g of Garfagnana Spelt, 100 g of cooked ham diced, 100 g of Gruyère diced, 1 small jar of chopped vegetables in oil, 10 cherry tomatoes, salt, extra virgin olive oil.
Procedure:
Boil the spelt, drain it and let it cool, season with extra virgin olive oil and add all the other ingredients, mix and serve.
POTATO GNOCCHI
Recipe for 4 PEOPLE
Ingredients:
1.5 kg of white potatoes (not sweet), 1 whole egg, 400 g of flour, salt, water.
Procedure:
Boil the potatoes with their skins on, salt the water with 1 tablespoon of salt; at the end of cooking, drain the potatoes, peel them, and pass them through a potato ricer while still warm (DO NOT use a hand blender!!). Place the passed potatoes on a well-floured surface, let them cool, and add 1 whole beaten egg. Knead everything together, adding flour, until the dough no longer feels sticky. Cut the dough into small cylinders, always well-floured, and shape the gnocchi into small pieces (to make them more ridged so they hold the sauce better, shape them on a gnocchi board or at least roll them on a fork).
Prepare a pot of boiling salted water and add the gnocchi; as soon as they float to the surface, they are cooked.
Drain them and prepare them for seasoning in an appropriate container (preferably warm); the ideal seasoning is ragù and Parmesan, but they also go well with tomato sauce, pesto, etc.; handle gently when seasoning so as not to ruin their shape!
TUSCAN CROSTINI
Recipe for 6 people
Ingredients:
6 chicken livers, 1 sausage, 3 eggs, 2 tablespoons of pickled capers, 1 small carrot, half a red onion, 6 juniper berries, 4 sage leaves, 2 bay leaves, 1 clove of garlic, 1/2 glass of red wine, butter, extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper. Sliced Tuscan bread suitable for crostini.
Procedure:
Place the finely chopped aromatics in a pan, sauté in oil, add the well-washed and dried chicken livers, the skinless sausage broken up, and brown everything with salt and pepper. Add the wine and let it evaporate. Continue cooking over low heat for about 30 minutes, adding a little water if necessary. At the end of cooking, remove the sage and bay leaves, blend in a food processor, and put in a small saucepan with 3 knobs of butter and heat. Separately, dip the bread for the crostini in beaten egg, then fry it in oil. Arrange the crostini on a platter and sprinkle with the prepared sauce, serving preferably hot.
POLENTA INCACIATA
Recipe for 4 people
Ingredients:
1 kg of cornmeal, 2 liters of water, grated Parmesan cheese, salt, meat ragù.
Procedure:
Put a pot of water to boil, add salt, and when it reaches a boil, slowly add the flour and stir with a whisk. Stir continuously so the mixture doesn't stick to the pot. Cook for 45 minutes. Then pour it into a large tray or dish, plate it by layering ragù, polenta, ragù, and polenta, and sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese.
PASTA WITH ‘TRABACCOLARA’ FISH SAUCE
Recipe for 4 PEOPLE
Ingredients:
800 gr. di pesce fresco a filetti (gallinella, scorfano,tracina,triglia,nasello, gattuccio), 1 cipolla, ca. 200 cc di vino bianco, 2 spicchi d’aglio, 4 pomodori freschi, ca. 100 cc di olio extravergine, sale, peperoncino.
Procedure:
In a large pan, prepare a sauté with chopped garlic, parsley, onion, chili pepper, and oil. Peel the tomatoes and remove the seeds, then add them to the sauté. When the tomato liquid has evaporated, add the wine, and once it has evaporated, add the fish and season with salt. Sauté everything over high heat and mash with a fork.
In the meantime, we will have prepared a pot of boiling salted water to cook the pasta (according to your preference). Once it is cooked, drain it and pour it into the pan with the fish; sauté for about 2 minutes and serve.
RIBOLLITA TUSCAN
Recipe for 4 people
Ingredients:
300 grams of borlotti or cannellini beans; 4 medium carrots; 4 zucchinis; 1 red onion; half a savoy cabbage; 8 leaves of black cabbage; 1 celery stalk; 5 medium potatoes; tomato puree (1 glass); leek (optional); oil, salt, pepper; stale Tuscan bread; water.
Procedure:
in un tegame far rosolare leggermente in olio, la cipolla, 1 carota ed il sedano ben tritati; aggiungere quindi i cavoli tritati grossolanamente e la passata di pomodoro, con due bicchieri di acqua calda.
Salt and pepper. Then add all the other vegetables cut into pieces and 1 liter of hot water. Next, add half of the beans (previously boiled and salted); puree the rest of the beans with their cooking water and add them to the rest: Cook everything for about 1 hour.a.
Slice the bread thinly and, in a large baking dish, layer it alternately with the vegetable broth.
The resulting soup can be eaten lukewarm, or let it sit and reheat it later (ribollita); if desired, it can be served with chopped leek.
