The three main ingredients to Tuscan food: bread, olive oil, and wine. Above is a simple pasta with tomatoes, a Tuscan spice blend, pecorino, and olive oil-----simple, but Ono-----at the Verrazano castle-----'veraz' is Latin for wild boar.
(Castello de Verrazano)
Lunch is the biggest meal of the day which usually includes vino-----no wonder they close for a siesta.
(Bisteka florentina)
Best meat on the trip so far. We were taken to a place where the locals go. This t-bone must have been about three fingers wide. The female is a smaller piece than the male. It's the cooking method that made it outstanding.
(Ribollito)
This Tuscan dish, from peasant origins, gave me a sense of place and history. It was comprised of bread, water, beans, black cabbage, garlic and olive oil.
(Pappa Pomodoro)
This dish was made up of bread, tomato, water, evoo, basil and garlic. This and the ribollito remind me of Asian congee, a dish that was created out of comfort and price in a poor time----something hot to put in your belly to sustain you, help you go to sleep and repeat another workday-----except bread is used here instead of leftover rice. This is a hearty winter dish, the summer time equivalent would be panzanella.
(Carciofi)
It is artichoke season right now. These Ono guys were cooked with potatoes, garlic and olive oil.
(Chestnut Dessert)
Chestnuts are in season now. You can find them on the streets or in desserts like this, a little like mochi this one.