Cecina is the Tuscan version of the chickpea flatbread, an easy and ancient recipe that goes back to the Etruscans, who were big consumers of chickpeas.
Although mushroom picking season is over in Tuscany by November, this month I’d like to bring you the typical autumn smell and flavour of my native woodlands. Fresh porcini are not easily available in Canada, but for this easy and tasty tart, dried porcini offer a good alternative.
This is an all time favourite kids’ afternoon snack, or merenda (I literally grew up on this)- so quick and comforting, it doesn’t get easier than this.
With the warm weather it comes the time for picnics and outdoor dining. This easy to make- and easy to carry- mini flans can be prepared with any summer vegetable but my favorite combination for this time of the year is zucchini and mint.
Savoy cabbage, together with most of its cabbage cousins, is not the most loved vegetables by many. But this cucina povera staple turns out to be rich in iron and omega 3 & 6.
Along with Tuscan black kale, the Cardone (or “gobbo”) has always been the protagonist of the Tuscan farmers’ winter cuisine. It belongs to the artichokes’ family but has a more delicate flavour and has the consistency, and looks, of celery.
Its name in the Lombard dialect means nutmeg: since ancient time this exotic ingredient, much appreciated in Lombardy, was used to flavour dishes prepared with the few ingredients that could be found in winter in farm houses .
Panzanella is the name of a rustic Tuscan summer dish. It does not require cooking and was originally consumed by the farmers who stayed in the fields all day. As for many dishes from the cucina povera, this uses up leftovers, in particular stale bread.
Farro is an ancient grain that grows in inhospitable, mountain areas of Italy. Low in gluten and high in protein and fiber, it can be used instead of rice to make risotto (called “farrotto”) since, as rice, it absorbs whatever flavours you add to it.
