“Under The Tuscan Sun” Flavors Of Tuscany

                Back in the mid-1980s Americans made a major culinary discovery: There was more to Italian food than tomato sauce and mozzarella.

                It was then that we began our love affair with risotto (a creamy rice dish), polenta (a mouthwatering cornmeal mush), fettunta (toasted bread with olive oil and garlic) and other previously unfamiliar dishes. The cuisine of the region of Tuscany captured our imagination and charmed our taste buds.

                Our fascination with Tuscany was both cause and component of a bigger trend: an appreciation of regional - not just national – cuisines. Tuscany was the beginning. Today, we are exclaiming the specialties of regional Chinese, Mexican, Caribbean, Southeast Asian and South American cuisines, just to name a few.

                Tuscany, the birthplace of some of the greatest artists the world has known, is also the source of some of the greatest food. With its reliance on simple preparations and a few basic flavorings, Tuscan cuisine has answered our call for lighter, but still flavorful, fare.

                The riches of the Tuscan table can be deceptively simple. Fettunta, garlic bread, is an irresistible example. Made with two of the region’s most important ingredients - olive oil and bread - it consists of toast rubbed with garlic, drizzled with oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper. We can’t resist it.

                Situated in central Italy, Tuscany covers some 8,875 square miles. Its varied topography ranges from gently rolling hills (many terraced for farming), to mountain forests, to the rugged coastline of the Ligurian and Tyhrrenian seas. The Chianti wine region is nestled in central Tuscany, north of the city of Siena.

                Archeologists tell us that Tuscany has been inhabited since 4500 B.C. Its first great civilization was that of the Etruscans who flourished between 900 and 500 B.C. An advanced people, they built roads and bridges, crafted pottery, sculpture and jewelry and blended wine at a time when most Europeans practiced simple farming. The Etruscans fell to the Roman Empire and over the successive centuries, Tuscany was in the path of various factions of Europe, all of whom brought their food traditions. From the new world came the tomato, which would become irrevocably linked with Tuscan and all Italian cuisine. City-states rose, fell and rose again, including the biggest and wealthiest, Florence, which became a center of banking, trade, art and architecture. Florence also became a gastronomic center, after a period of elaborate court banquets reverted to the simple, elegant cuisine that Tuscany is known for today.

                Tuscans are proud of their local olive oil, a rich but light liquid ranked among the world’s best. Easily the most important item in the Tuscan pantry, it is used as a fat, a flavoring and a preservative. Olive oil is used as a medium for pan-frying and deep-frying, in soups, stews, salad dressings, marinades and as a condiment. Butter is also used, and is a component of the simple white sauce (besciamella) that is used for Tuscan-style lasagna.

                Garlic is a key seasoning in Tuscany, as are fresh herbs such as basil, parsley, rosemary, tarragon, fennel, bay leaves and sage. Other flavorings include onions, tomatoes, lemon, anchovies, wine and bacon. Capers add a tangy note. Heat comes from black pepper and chili peppers while salt is derived from rock salt.

                Beef cattle from the region of Chianina are reputed to be Italy’s finest, and bistecca alla fiorentina, a thick steak typically dressed in olive oil, garlic and rosemary and grilled, is one of the glories of the Tuscan kitchen. Pork, lamb, chicken, duck and game are grilled, roasted, fried, boiled, braised, cooked in stews or made into pasta sauces. Pork and game are also made into sausages, hams and salamis. Tripe (stomach) is also a favorite. Tuscany is known for its pecorino, or sheep’s milk cheeses. And the region’s rivers and long coastlines offer up fish and shellfish of all sorts, which are grilled, fried or cooked as zuppa, or soup-stew.

                While pasta, rice and polenta are roundly enjoyed in Tuscany, the grain product that underlies the cuisine is the local salt-free bread. Bread features in several classic soups: pappa col pomodora (a bread and tomato soup), ribollita (a soup of bread, beans and cabbage), and acqua cotta (a thin vegetable soup whose name means “cooked water”). Cubed days-old bread is tossed with onions, tomatoes, basil, olive oil and vinegar for panzanella, or bread salad. Bread crumbs are used in a variety of dishes. Sandwiches (panini), filled with meat, cheese or vegetables, make for delicious quick meals. Bread becomes a savory snack when the dough is studded with sausage (pane con salsicce), olives (pane con olive), or rosemary (pane di ramerino).

                An old Tuscan proverb has it that “a tavola non s’invecchia” – One doesn’t age at the table. With such simple abundance, it’s easy to see why.