Top Tips for Visiting Tuscany - a List of the Best Dishes to Taste While in Florence & Tuscany
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Wondering what to eat in Tuscany? If only all of life's questions were this delicious! :) In our Tuscany travel guide, Tuscany for the Shameless Hedonist, we dedicate an entire section to the best and most typical Tuscan dishes and food that you every visitor should taste. Here are a few examples:
WHAT TO EAT IN TUSCANY - #1 PANZANELLA
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In the summer, after a busy morning of sightseeing, we like to enjoy a light and fresh lunch. Something that won't slow us down, especially on the hot Tuscan summer months. Panzanella is the perfect solution - a traditional Tuscan bread and vegetable salad, made with juicy tomatoes, crisp cucumbers, cubes of bread, a few slices of red onion, and tossed together with a light and fresh dressing made with olive oil and lemon juice.What is panzanella?
WHAT TO EAT IN TUSCANY - #2 MEAT
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Tuscany's famous meats flavor many pasta sauces, but the most famous dishes are those in which the meat itself is the star - Bistecca Fiorentina (a huge T-bone, charred from the outside, almost raw on the inside), tagliata (sliced steak, served with a variety of toppings, from peppery arugula leaves and shards of aged Parmesan cheese to a creamy mushroom sauce), Arista (the famous Tuscan-style roast pork) and peposo (a slow cooking beef stew) are just a few of the best-known examples.
WHAT TO EAT IN TUSCANY - #3 COLD CUTS
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Tuscans absolutely love their cold cuts - prosciutto cotto (cooked ham) prosicutto crudo (salted and air-dried ham), salami, boar salami, bresaola (cured beef) and lardo di colonnata (smoked and aged lard, typical of the marble mountains of Carrara) are all hugely popular antipasti dishes, and the perfect way to get acquainted with the authentic Tuscan cuisine.
WHAT TO EAT IN TUSCANY - #4 RIBOLLITA
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Originally born as a peasants' soup, invented to reuse stale bread, this delicious and creamy dish has become a staple of the Tuscan kitchen. Today it is a rich and satisfying stew/soup that is best enjoyed, alongside a fine glass of chianti wine, on a cold autumn night. Inside the ribollita you will find beans, black cabbage, bread and other vegetables, all of which have been cooked together for hours, until the flavors melded together. Don't forget to add a generous drizzle of olive oil before you dig in!No top 10 list of Tuscan dishes is complete without the ribollita!
WHAT TO EAT IN TUSCANY - #5 PAPPA AL POMODORO
Much like the ribollita, pappa al pomodoro also stems from humble origins and was invented out of necessity. Many poor families only had stale bread and tomatoes to eat, and so pappa al pomodoro was born. Today, however, the dish has been refined, and when properly prepared, it is a feast of flavors, creamy and delicious.
WHAT TO EAT (OR DRINK) IN TUSCANY - #6 RED WINE
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If there is one thing Tuscany is famous for, it's its century-old wine production tradition. Some of the most famous wines in the world are produced in Tuscany, namely Chianti and Brunello. Since wine is such a huge part of the Tuscan way of life and mentality, we've dedicated several tips in our Tuscany travel guide, Tuscany for the Shameless Hedonist, to the best wine tours and wine tastings in Tuscany. We've also listed the best places in which to buy top Tuscan wines (including the hugely popular Super-Tuscans) for excellent prices.
WHAT TO EAT IN TUSCANY #7 ICE CREAM
Visiting Florence without enjoying some gelato (ice cream) in one of the numerous gelaterie (ice cream shops) in town isn't technically a crime, but it ought to be! Italian ice cream is fantastic, and the choice of flavors and styles in Florence is dazzling. To find out all about the best ice cream shops in Florence, consult our Tuscany Travel guide, Tuscany for the Shameless Hedonist.
WHAT TO EAT IN TUSCANY #8 PASTA
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No Tuscan meal (or Italian meal, for that matter) is complete without pasta. Tuscans excel in pasta, and travelers can enjoy both a variety of pasta types (everything from spaghetti to penne to fusili) and of sauces (cheese sauces, vegetables based sauces, and, of course, meat ragu). Try a few of the more typical delicacies - pici (thick, hand-rolled spaghetti-like pasta, typical of Siena) served with a cacio cheese and black pepper sauce; pappardelle (a wide and flat pasta), typically served with either boar ragu (ragu di cinghiale) or with hare sauce (pappardelle alla lepre); gnocchi; ravioli, and more. Alternatively, stick to the classics - a heaping plate of tagliatelle, or a steaming dish of penne all'arrabbiata (short pasta served with a spicry tomato sauce).a plate of chunky pici pasta, drenched in sauce? yes please!Boris-B/Shutterstock.comFind out more about the best sites, restaurants, hotels, wine tours and festivals in Florence & Tuscany with our best-selling Tuscany travel guide, Tuscany for the Shameless Hedonist. Click on the image below to find out more: