Bread, oil and tomato

Method:

Take a piece of one or two-day old bread and rub it with a very ripe tomato (preferably small); the dress with 15-20 g of Tuscan extra virgin oil and a pinch of salt. This healthy food can replace children’s “snacks” which are full of preservatives, colorants and unhealthy animal fat.

Macaroni with olives

Method:

Prepare a sauce by frying 2 chopped cloves of garlic and 4 chopped fresh tomatoes or 2 spoonfuls of tomato passata diluted with a little water, 20 large pitted and chopped black olives and 4 bay leaves in 100 g of Tuscan extra virgin oil. Simmer gently until the sauce thickens. In the meantime, cook 400 g of macaroni in boiling salted water. When the pasta is ready pour into a hot dish. Pour over the sauce, mixing thoroughly and adding a grating of Parmesan or mature Pecorino cheese.

Ring made with oil

Method:

Mix 250 g of sugar with 4 eggs, add a sachet of yeast for cakes, the grated rind of one lemon, 400 g of flour and 200 g of Tuscan extra virgin oil. Pour the even mixture into a buttered baking ring-shaped tin and bake in the oven at 180°C for about 30 minutes.

Pecorino cheese with honey

Method:

1) Cut the cheese into one cm thick slices and grill briefly on a very hot grill. Drizzle with a spoonful of honey.

2) Use a sharp knife to make scales of mature Pecorino cheese, arrange it on a serving plate and drizzle with honey. The Vernaccia di San Gimignano wine made by Casanova di Pescille is the excellent companion for both recipes.

Panpepato (typical dessert from Sienna)

Ingredients:

Method:

200 g of flour
100 g of almonds
100 g of honey
100 g of candied fruit
100 g of cocoa powder
2 g of cinnamon
2 g of cloves

Thoroughly mix the ingredients with lukewarm water or milk until quite firm. Shape the “panpepato” into the characteristic round form about 4 cm thick. Bake in the oven, taking care not to burn it as this will create a bitter flavour, and leave to rest in a cool, damp place for ten days. Then coat it with melted plain chocolate.

Walnut pie

Ingredients:

Method:

400 g of soft wheat flour
200 g of butter
200 g of sugar
2 eggs (one whole egg plus one yolk)
the grated rind of one lemon

150 g of sugar
2 spoons of honey
2 spoons of milk
200 g of walnut kernels

Use the flour, butter, sugar, eggs and the rind of one lemon to make normal short pastry. Split the dough into two halves and leave to rest for half an hour. Use half the pastry to line the bottom of a greased pie-dish. In the meantime, dissolve the sugar in a heavy-bottomed pan, adding the honey, milk and chopped walnut kernels, mixing occasionally. Leave to cool and then use to fill the pastry-lined pie-dish. Roll out the other half of the pastry and cover the pie-dish, pressing down the edges to seal the pie.

Bake at 200°C for 40 minutes. The Vinsanto made by Casanova di Pescille is excellent to accompany this dessert.

Braised veal with saffron

Ingredients:

Method:

Melt the butter in a frying pan with the oil. Lightly flour the veal and place it in the pan. Add the thyme and softly crushed juniper berries and gently fry the meat for twenty minutes. Pour over the wine and add salt and pepper to taste. Cover and cook for about two hours. Dissolve the saffron in the cream and pour over the meat quarter of an hour before the end of the cooking time. When cooked, slice the meat and arrange it in a hot serving plate. Sieve the sauce and thicken for a couple of minutes over a high heat. Pour over the sliced meat and serve immediately.

Recommended wine:
Rosso di San Gimignano Doc

Tagliatelle with Saffron

Ingredients:

Method:

Serves 4

400 g tagliatelle
400 g baby peas
30 g Tuscan extra virgin olive oil
0.05 g saffron
1 onion
salt

Gently fry the peas with the finely shopped onion in the oil and cook over a low heat for 10 minutes. Dissolve the saffron in a pan full of salted water and cook the pasta until “al dente”. Drain the pasta and add a knob of butter and the peas. Mix thoroughly and serve immediately.
Recommended wine: Vernaccia di San Gimignano Casanova di Pescille 1997.