When we talk about Italian food, we often refer to its humble beginnings in the kitchens of the country’s poorest inhabitants. For centuries, whilst the nobility and clergy claimed the best cuts of meat, the freshest fruit and vegetables and prized fish and seafood, the majority of Italians were forced to make do with the scraps. Although some remnants of upper class cuisine have survived, it is the ingenuity and resourcefulness of la cucina povera – the so-called ‘kitchen of the poor’ – that defines Italian food today. Nowhere in Italy is that more evident than in Tuscany, where these humble dishes are still enjoyed in homes and trattorias all over the region.
Respect for the history and origins of these dishes is important in Tuscany. A bread soup like acquacotta may look spartan to us, but there was a time not all that long ago when Tuscans ate it because it was literally all they had. People who worked for long periods away from home – shepherds, woodcutters, quarry workers and the like – would often take bread with them as, although it would go stale, it would keep for many days before spoiling. If all you have is some stale bread, water, and a few vegetables, then that’s what you’re going to eat. These days of course, you might enhance your acquacotta with a poached egg, grated Parmesan or olive oil, but regardless – the dish survives at least partly in celebration of Tuscany’s past.
There’s another reason too, though – Tuscany’s geographical location in the heart of Italy means it shares a similar climate to neighbouring provinces like Emilia-Romagna, Campania and Umbria, making it fantastic for farming. Tuscans are blessed with a bounty of fresh fruit and vegetables – tomatoes here are exceptional, perhaps the best in the world – and the outstanding quality of produce is the cornerstone of Tuscan cuisine. Tuscany really does have it all too – wild game here is superb, as is the beef and pork, with native Chianina cattle especially prized for their lean, flavourful meat. The long western coastline along the Mediterranean yields a huge variety of fish and seafood, which often goes into soups and stews. When you see the produce here, Tuscan cooking makes sense – it’s about preserving the quality of the ingredient, by doing as little to it as possible.
It makes sense to go self-catered in Tuscany if you’re planning a visit, then! But that said, there are chefs across the region who are pushing the boundaries of Tuscan food to bold new places. In Florence, Marco Stabile is taking familiar Tuscan flavours and reinventing them with imagination, whilst two-Michelin-starred chefs Gaetano Trovato and Francesco Bracali run two of Italy’s best restaurants from idyllic spots in the Tuscan countryside. Scroll down for our complete foodie guide to Tuscany, to ensure you don’t miss anything on your next visit.