PAPPA AL POMODORO !

The tomato soup is a poor dish of peasant origin. 

It is excellent in winter because it is a hot soup and in summer because you can eat it at room temperature too. 

The main ingredients are: Tuscan bread,

peeled tomatoes, garlic, basil and oil.

INGREDIENTS (four people) 

- 300 gr of bread 

-1 l of soup

-10 leaves of basil

-pepper 

-olive oil 

-garlic

-1 spoon of sugar

-salt 

-800 gr of tomatoes 

PREPARATION 

Cut the Tuscan bread in thin slices (1) than toast them in the oven at 200 degrees for some minutes.

Remove the bread from the oven and rub them with the garlic(2).

Boil the tomatoes in boiling water for around 1 minute (3). 

Then take the tomatoes out and peel them with a knife (4) .

Sieve the tomatoes and place them in a container. 

Place the bread in a pan (5) 

So pour the tomato sauce on the bread  (7) and the vegetable broth too (8).

Add some salt, pepper, and some sugar (9) and cook at low heat for 40-50 minutes, until the liquid has evaporated. 

Stir well for trasforming the bread into a "pappa" (10) . 

Add the basil leaves (11). Pour the pappa al pomodoro in a bowl (12) and add some extra virgin olive oil too. 

THE DISH IS READY!!! :) 

                                        Simona Cilino. 

Frittelle di riso

Frittelle di riso

Ingredients for 4-5 people 

- 150 gr of rice

- 1/2 l of milk

- 1 glass of water

- 2-4 tablespoons of flour

- 70 gr of raisins

- 1 glass of Vinsanto

- rind of 1 lemon

- 10 gr of baking powder 

- pinch of salt

- 1 tablespoon of sugar
- lemon juice
- 2 egg yolks

Preparation

- Boil milk with water, add the rice, salt and grated rind of lemon.

When the fluid is absorbed switch off the fire and let it cool.

- Add the flour, vinsanto, 2 egg yolks, lemon juice, raisins and sugar

- Let the dough rest for about 30 minutes

- Whisk the egg whites with the baking powder and add it to the dough

- Fry in boiling oil in small portions.

Chiara Stefani

Pappa al Pomodoro

Here's a first dish of the Florentine traditional peasant cooking.
Ingredients:
-Stale bread (Tuscan bread baked in a wood-fired oven would be perfect)
-Ripe tomatoes
-Basil
-Garlic
- Extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper
First, stir fry the garlic in the oil, then add the tomatoes cut in a large pieces. Mix well and add the chopped basil (or the whole leaves), some salt and lots of pepper. Let it cook for about ten minutes, and then add water or some vegetable broth. Bring to a boil and cook for another 5 minutes, then add the bread cut into pieces and boil for another 5 to 10 minutes. Add some more salt and pepper if necessary, then add some more basil and turn the fire off. Let the "pappa" rest in a covered pot for about an hour and serve with some olive oil. This is the traditional recipe which includes garlic, but there are different varations. Pagani Alice

Agnolini alla Parmigiana

Agnolini alla parmigiana!

I chose this dish because I come from Albany and when I came here for the first time this was the first dish I ate and it impressed me! It’s very tasty and light, that’s why I like it!

Ingredients for 4 people :

For the dough:

400 g of white flour                                                                                          

4 eggs

For the filling:

400 g of beef

50 g of grated Parmesan cheese

50 g of breadcrumbs

50 g butter

50 g of bacon

2 eggs

1/2 l of broth

1 glass of red wine

1 onion

1 carrot

1 stalk of celery

olive oil

garlic

tomato sauce

cloves

Preparation and cooking:

1 hour (plus the time for the dough).

The goodness of this recipe is all in the stew that once the housewives stewed for three whole days in a special clay dish placed in a corner of the kitchen. The cooks of today do not ask the impossible, but simply a good stew.

Put the meat, after you have garnished it with bacon and garlic to brown for ten minutes in a pan with butter and chopped onion. When it has taken a beautiful color, moisten it with the wine, allowing it to quickly evaporate and then cover with the warmed broth. Put the lid over the pan and start cooking it slowly (7-8 hours). When the broth is reduced to a quite thick sauce, remove the meat (which can be served as an accompanying dish). Stir in some tomato sauce, breadcrumbs and grated cheese stirring at a good pace to get a homogeneous mixture. The final consistency should be such that the preparation for the filling can be worked easily with your fingers. Adjust the density of the broth by increasing the quantity of breadcrumbs and cheese if necessary.

Knead the flour and eggs as usual and roll the dough to obtain a thin layer. Place on it the balls of filling. Cut with a special notched stencil the circles of dough around each mound of filling. Close them on themselves by squeezing the dough around the individual balls of filling. As agnolini are ready, order them on a floured surface and then cover them with a slightly moistened cloth.

Boil the agnolini in plenty of beef broth and serve with grated Parmesan. Well-drained, this type of stuffed pasta also lends itself to be served dry.

A variation of this recipe comes from the tradition of Piacenza. The suggestion is to add to the filling of the meat sauce, finely chopped, two whole eggs and a couple of handfuls of grated parmesan then let the dough rest for at least ten hours.  Agnolini, always cooked in beef broth, can also be served dry seasoned with the filling ingredients, mushrooms or meat sauce, for example.

Recommended wine

For a dish like this, all based on the taste of the stew, you need a full-bodied red wine like a great Barbera Colli Bolognesi Doc.

 

Balla Algerta.

POLPETTE DI CARNE Giulia Campinotti

The meatballs are a classic recipe and simple to make.   The meatballs are a second dish really delicious and enjoyed by all, especially by children.

INGREDIENTS FOR 35 DUMPLINGS

Meat : 500 g

Garlic : a clove

Parmesan cheese : 50 g

Eggs : 2

Bread : 100 g

Oil, salt , ginger , parsley

Provola cheese: 50 g

 PREPARATION

To make the meatballs start preparing the ingredients. First you take the bread, remove the crust (1), cut into small cubes and chop finely with the help of a mixer (2). Wash and clean the parsley, then chop it with a knife or a crescent (3).

Chop up a clove of garlic (4) and cut the Provola cheese into cubes (5). In a large bowl place the minced meat and then add the chopped parsley (6),

chopped garlic, Provola cheese (7), beaten eggs (8) and parmesan (9).

Stir the mixture well with a wooden spoon until all the ingredients are thoroughly mixed (10). Finally incorporate the breadcrumbs too (11), then add salt and pepper. Cover the mixture with plastic wrap, place in the refrigerator and let it rest for about half an hour (12).

Form the meatballs by hand (13). Fry the meatballs in hot oil, until golden brown (14). At this point, drain well on paper towels (15). Serve the meatballs together with a fresh salad or mashed potatoes.

Colleoli

My favorite restaurant is "Colleoli" in Colleoli. 

It isn't only a restaurant but it's a holiday farm and people also can organise ceremonies there, because the place is very beautiful. When there are wedding parties they sometimes organise buffet dinners.
It’s a restaurant where there are three big rooms and when it's summer or it's hot there is plenty of space in the garden to enjoy your meal in the open air.
The typical food of this restaurant is "Tuscan cuisine": croutons, soups..and every dish is delicious.
Prices aren't too expensive. 
Virginia

This is their website:

http://www.agriturismocolleoli.it/

Holiday Farms: il Monticino

Our final dinner at Il Monticino holiday farm

In our area there are a lot of holiday farms like Monticino, Borgo di Colleoli and Canavetro. The landskape of this area is famous all-over the world. 

The wine roads (strada del vino), the rolling hills filled with vineyards and culinary tourism are some of the most important attractions of the area. 

Holiday farms organize wine and food tasting events and guided tours on horseback and nature walks in the woods to give tourists the opportunity to appreciate our landscape. Holiday farms usually provide restaurant facilities, where traditional food is served. 

My holiday farm (il Monticino) is situated in Palaia and it is a family-run business. 

Our typical menu is the following: 

Starters

Mix of cold cuts (ham, salami)

Crostini (toasted bread) with tomato sauce and with peppers sauce

Mix of pickles,

Fried eggplant,

Pappa al pomodoro (a typical dish made with stale bread and tomato sauce). 

First courses

Pasta con ragù di coniglio (pasta with rabbit ragout)

Riso ai Funghi (rice with mushrooms)

Zuppa di pane e cavolo (traditional cabbage soup with bread and beans). 

Second courses

Coniglio fritto (fried rabbit)

Trippa (tripes)

Stewed chicken

Baked pork

Desserts

Cantuccini e vin santo (almond biscuits served with sweet local wine)

Fruit pie

Espresso coffee

Panzanella

 PANZANELLA

Panzanella is the name of a Tuscan summer dish; a poor dish that was eaten by the farmers, who were working in the fields all day long.The main ingredients are: stale bread, tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, basil, salt, pepper, vinegar and oil.

Ingredients

- 15  leaves of basil
- salt
- black pepper

- 400g of bread

-1 cucumber

- 3 spoon of white wine vinegar

- 1 big red onion

- extra virgin olive oil

-2 tomatoes

To prepare Panzanella you should peel and cut the red onions into thin slices(1) and put them soaking in a small bowl with some water and 1 tbsp of white wine vinegar (2), for at least two hours. Peel a cucumber too (3).




Cut it into thin washers and put them aside (4). At the end wash and cut the tomatoes into small pieces (5). Take four slices of Tuscan bread and remove the crust with a knife (6).




Wet them in a solution of water and vinegar without drenching it too much (7). When the bread is soft, squeeze it and break it with the hands and put it in a salad bowl (8). Drain the red onions (9).




Mix them with the bread (10) add tomatoes (11)  and cucumbers (12), 




and some hand chopped basil (13). Mix gently all the ingredients with a spoon.  Flavor the panzanella with some extravergin olive oil, and some salt and pepper too (14). Let the Panzanella rest in the fridge for at least one hour. The Panzanella is ready! (15)

                                                                                        Beatrice Landi