Italian Cuisine: In The Heart Of Tuscany

By Terry Lowery


When an American conjures up     rice dishes, and a fish or    
an idea of Italian cuisine,      duck dish in Tuscany is often
often what comes to mind is      not complete without a risotto
pasta, red sauce, and garlic     base. They also blend wine    
bread. Pasta, no doubt, plays    seamlessly into these dishes,
a large part in most             evaporating the alcohol       
traditional Italian regional     content and leaving the fruits
cuisine, and few cultures know   to mingle with the grains and 
how to employ a tomato the       filled pastas that compliment 
way that Italians can.           the meat and fish entrees     
However, there are so many       that bring the rich and famous
distinct styles and trademarks   from all over the world to    
within the different regions     Tuscany.                      
of Italy that it is hard to                                    
lump together all Italian        Along the coast, seafood      
regional cuisine into one        plays an integral part of the
general type of cooking. In      cuisine. A trademark of the   
reality each region has a very   Tuscan coast is a soup called
distinct style and taste, and    caccuccio. Caccuccio is a rich
there is really no way to        soup made from a tomato and   
appreciate Italian regional      fish base. The secret is to   
cuisine without visiting         use many different types of   
restaurants and eateries all     fish, pureed bones and all    
over the boot.                   directly into the base of the
                                 soup. This soup, served with a
Tuscany is a region of Italy     hearty Tuscan bread is        
that takes up a small piece of   filling enough to constitute  
the western coastline on the     an entire meal. While the     
Tyrrhenian Sea. Since a large    coast of Tuscany is home to   
border of the Tuscan region is   many a delicacy, it is the    
coastal, seafood plays a         varied nature of the Tuscan   
large role in the regional       landscape that provides such  
cuisine of Tuscany. A coveted    variety in the regional       
destination for tourists,        cuisine of Tuscany.           
Tuscany is overflowing with                                    
cultural experiences, with       The cattle and boars that are 
roots stemming from the          particular to the region, for 
Renaissance. Florence, Pisa      example, make for a taste     
and the busy port of Livorno     that you cannot find anywhere
all lie within this modest       else, in soups, grilled       
region. Like it's simple but     dishes, and hams. While       
beautiful landscape, Tuscan      Tuscany is responsible for    
cooking keeps things simple.     only four percent of Italy's  
Tuscan bread, for example is a   overall olive oil production,
saltless crusted compliment      Tuscan olive trees can live to
to their judiciously spiced      be hundreds or even thousands 
entrees.                         of years old. So while each   
                                 tree produces less of an oil  
While many people think of       yield than trees customarily  
Italian cuisine as being very    found in other regions of     
salty and filled with garlic,    Italy, the trees have a much  
onion, and basil, Tuscan         more rich history. This       
cuisine uses seasoning very      simplicity grounded in a rich
sparingly to bring out the       tradition is only appropriate
natural flavors of the           for the Tuscan region.        
vegetables, beans, and grains                                  
that make up their traditional                                 
regional cooking. Chefs of                                     
Tuscany are renowned for their   

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