TERRE DI ARNOLFO: everything about Colle di Val d'Elsa, the Home of Lead-Glass Crystal

Typical recipes

The style of cooking of Colle di Val d'Elsa reflects customs and habits which go a long way back in time, in a history that began with the Etruscans, continued with the dishes of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, and went on into the 19th century.

In actual fact, these dishes are more than anything else a meeting point between an age when the real problem was managing to eat at all, and a more urban, middle-class tradition, with the result that today we find a close inter-relationship between basic rustic simplicity and aristocratic refinement, in the eternal confrontation between deprivation and abundance.

In this sense, the poor man’s fare comprised a limited range of ingredients, mostly based on bread, onions, beans, vegetables and herbs of the field, while the rich man’s table benefited more from red meat, white meat, and game.

Also there is no shortage of 'international' references, given the many encounters, including those of a culinary variety, with the styles of the people who passed through Colle di Val d'Elsa from northern Europe on their way to Rome, along the Via Francigena.

What follows is a short list of typical recipes from Colle di Val d'Elsa, which, in accordance with the usual tradition, we recommend that you sample only ever with local wines.

	MIGLIACCIO OR CASTAGNACCIO 300 g of chestnut flour 1 glass of water 8 tbsps of oil rosemary 1 handful of pine kernels 1 handful of raisins orange peel Leave the raisins to soak in hot water; meanwhile place the sweet chestnut flour in a bowl (it’s called “sweet” because it is so sweet and heavy that it needs no added sugar) and two tablespoons of oil. Slowly add the cold water and stir with a whisk, until the mixture is runny and even. Allow to stand for around half an hour. Grease a rectanglar baking tray with a little oil, pour in the mixture, sprinkling the raisins on top (after drying them), along with the pine kernels, the orange peel, cut into short strips, and oil, after having gently heated a sprig of rosemary in it. Bake at medium heat for 45 mins, until the surface is dark and cracked. Serve warm or cold.
	ZUPPA LOMBARDA 200 gr of dried cannellini beans 1 medium-sized green cabbage 2 cloves of garlic sage 30 gr of extra-virgin olive oil 1/2 l of stock 4 large slices of stale Tuscan bread salt, pepper Leave the beans in a bowl of cold water overnight. In the morning, boil them in slightly salted water with the sage, until they are "al dente" (soft inside and slightly hard on the outside) -- this will take between 1 hour and 1 and a half hours. Boil the cabbage, and in the meantime toast the bread and rub it with plenty of garlic, on both sides. Alternate a layer of bread with beans on top, and a layer of bread with cabbage on top, then pour the stock on top and add salt and pepper. Then pour plenty of olive oil on top, and serve piping hot. In the old days, this soup was called 'Longobard' soup, because it was brought to Tuscany at the time when the Longobards, a barbarian race, came down from the north.
	PAPPA AL POMODORO 2 cloves of garlic 100 ml of extra virgin olive oil 800g of tinned tomatoes, or fresh tomatoes (better) salt basil parsley 1 stick of celery 1 onion 1 chilli pepper 1 carrot 600g of stale Tuscan bread Gently fry the chopped onion, carrot, and celery until golden-brown in plenty of oil, add the tinned tomatoes, and cook for 20 minutes. Then place the garlic, chili and salt in the pan, and finally the stale bread (having first left it to soak and then squeezing out the water). Sprinkle the basil and parsley on top, and cook for a further 10 minutes. Leave to stand and serve hot.
	FEGATELLI DI MAIALE 500g pig’s livers and gut lining 200g bacon (pancetta) breadcrumbs sage wild fennel seeds salt, pepper Cut the liver into pieces and coat in the breadcrumbs and wild fennel seeds. Place the liver in the gut lining, together with a slice of pancetta and a sage leaf, adding salt and pepper. Secure the ingredients together with a tooth-pick. Bake in a baking dish like a normal roast joint, and serve piping hot.
	TRIPPA ALLA FIORENTINA (TRIPE) 700 gr of boiled tripe cut into ribbons 300 gr of peeled tomatoes 5 tbsps of olive oil 1 clove of garlic 1 onion 1 stick of celery 1 carrot 1 bay leaf plenty of chopped basil grated parmesan salt and pepper Lightly fry the chopped vegetables (minus the basil) and the garlic until golden-brown, add the tripe, mix well and then add a cup of hot water. Add the tomatoes, add salt and pepper to taste, and leave on a low heat for around half an hour, or longer if it is still hard. Sprinkle with basil and parmesan.
	CROSTINI DI MILZA, OR BLACK CROSTINI 400 gr of chicken livers and/or calf spleen (cleaned and chopped small) extra virgin olive oil 3 salted anchovies (washed and de-boned) 1 onion (sliced thin) 1 tbsp of pickled capers parsley white wine and cognac stale local bread cut into strips salt and pepper Gently fry the onion without letting it go brown, add the livers or the spleen (or half and half) and then gently fry until golden-brown. Add a one-finger measure of wine and the same amount of cognac and, when they have completely evaporated on a high flame, add the anchovies, which must be evenly distributed. Then add the capers, having first dried and cut them up with the parsley, a cup of water, salt and pepper. Allow to simmer for around a quarter of an hour, stirring often, until it forms a thick, aromatic paste. This can then be spread while warm on the bread, after lightly toasting it, or dipping it (one side only) in meat stock.
	BISTECCA ALLA FIORENTINA (BEEFSTEAK) 1 piece of "Chianina" beef steak, 2/3 cm thick extra virgin olive oil salt and pepper Cook the beef steaks, which should be “vitellone” beef (young adult), if possible of the Chianina breed, the steak being around 2 and a half cm thick, on a hot grill. Turn the steak once only. Remove from grill while still "al sangue" (rare) and dress with extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper.
	TUSCAN BRUSCHETTA, OR FETTUNTA traditional Tuscan ('casereccio') bread extra virgin olive oil salt and pepper fresh ripe tomatoes Toasted (or braised) bread rubbed with raw garlic and liberally doused in non-filtered olive oil, salt and pepper. Chopped fresh tomatoes are sometimes added.
	FAGIOLI ALL'UCCELLETTA 600 gr of Tuscan fagioli beans (preboiled) 500 gr of fresh or peeled (tinned) tomatoes 1 clove of garlic sage oil salt and pepper Blanch the garlic and sage in oil, take out the garlic and add tomotoes, beans, salt and pepper. Leave to stew at a fairly high temperature, stirring often.
	RIBOLLITA 1 kg of preboiled beans (bastardoni, or regina beans, or cannellini), half of them whole, the other half mashed 1 chopped green cabbage, the harder pieces being finely chopped 1 small bunch of chard (half of it sliced, half finely chopped) 1 small bunch of parsley, finely chopped 8 new potatoes (half of them sliced, half finely chopped) 3 chopped courgettes 3 chopped carrots 2 sliced leeks 2 sticks of chopped celery 2 cloves of garlic 1 sliced red onion stale bread peeled tomatoes ("San Marzano" variety) nutmeg salt and pepper oil Gently fry the onion in the oil, add all the other vegetables, add enough water to cover, and add salt, pepper, and ground nutmeg to taste. Leave to simmer for 2 or 3 hours. Place thin slices of toasted (braised) Tuscan bread in a baking dish, pour the vegetables on top, and allow to boil for a few minutes more. Sprinkle a little extra virgin olive oil on top before serving. Ribollita is perhaps even better if eaten the day after it is prepared.

"The discovery of a new delicacy does mankind more good than the discovery of a new star."
Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, Gourmet (1755-1826)