Backroads Italy Home page Why Backroads Request a Catalog Search for an Italy Trip Read about Tuscany's history, culture, cuisine, wines and more		A Taste of Tuscany Massimo Prioreschi, Backroads’ Vice President of Sales & Marketing, shares two irresistible family recipes from Tuscany. "Having Tuscan and Bergamascan parents made for a bit of the dueling kitchens in my house. Eventually the Tuscan won out with a few northern dishes creeping in every so often. I’m the product of these cuisines; I know when to use olive oil vs. butter and how to appreciate the finer points of both pecorino toscano and gorgonzola. Spending many summers with my Tuscan grandmother gave an appreciation for the simple art of Italian cooking. She took me under her wing and taught me how to prepare some of her most treasured dishes. The freshest ingredients brought together in the proper proportion with minimum manipulation. A celebration of individual tastes married together. There’s something about the Italian kitchen that appeals to the soul. It’s straightforward, honest and direct. It’s proud but not boastful. It’s sublime in its purity. It’s habit forming!" Massimo’s Recipes: Minestra di Fagioli alla Toscana (Tuscan White Bean Soup) This recipe was one of my Nonna’s favorites. It’s the perfect soup to warm you up from the crisp autumn air. The Tuscans are often referred to as mangia fagioli—bean eaters. After you taste this soup, you’ll understand why. Ingredients 1½ cups dry cannellini beans 3 tablespoons olive oil 2 large cloves of garlic 1 bunch of fresh sage 3 tablespoons tomato paste 1 cup pasta (I use farfalle) N.B. If you want to make a richer soup, add chopped pancetta to the pot while sautéing the garlic. Preparation Boil the cannellini beans in 4¼ cups of water in a slow boil for about 1 hour. In the meantime sauté the garlic in the 3 tablespoons olive oil until golden. Discard the garlic cloves. Add the sage to the olive oil and sauté for 3 minutes. Once the beans are soft, remove from heat, take one cup of the remaining liquid, one cup of the beans, and mix in the tomato paste. Add this to the oil. Drain the beans and reserve the water. In a blender, blend the remaining beans into a puree. Add the pureed beans to the oil/tomato/bean mixture and bring to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until tender. You can add the reserved cooking water to the soup if it is too thick. Serve the soup with freshly grated pepper and pour a bit of extra virgin olive oil on top. Buon appetito! Biscotto di Prato When we say biscotti in English we are really referring to the cantuccio—one of Italy’s great dessert biscuits. These cookies were made famous in the small town of Prato close to Florence. The perfect accompaniment to this rock hard biscuit is a sweet ‘Vin Santo,’ which will add flavor and prevent you from breaking your fillings! Ingredients 2 cups flour 2 cups sugar 2 whole eggs 1 egg yolk ½ cup whole almonds 2 tablespoons milk 3 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1/8 teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon pure almond extract Preparation Preheat oven to 325° and lightly grease a large baking sheet. Sift the flour, baking soda and salt together and form a small mound with a well in the center on a clean surface. Pour on the sugar, eggs, vanilla, almond extract and almonds. Mix to form the dough adding the milk bit by bit. Divide dough in half. On a lightly floured surface roll each half of dough into a log about 10 inches long and 2 inches wide. Transfer logs to the prepared baking sheet and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until firm to the touch (the logs will flatten out during baking). Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes. Transfer logs to cutting board and, using a serrated knife, cut log into slices 1-1½ inches thick on the diagonal. Arrange evenly on baking sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes, turn slices over, and bake another 10 minutes or until firm to the touch. Remove from oven and let cool. Store in an airtight container.