If you’re eating Italian, you’re probably after a perfect pizza or a plate of pasta, but delve into the heart of Italy and you might be surprised at the other wondrous dishes it has to offer. Tuscany is renowned for being bathed in sunshine during the long, hot summer months, and this means that its local, fresh produce can be served with very little done to it to get your tastebuds tingling.
Take a look at the menu of any popular Italian restaurant in Dublin and you could easily be tempted away from a standard Margherita pizza or spaghetti bolognese as you let your imagination whisk you away to a taste sensation.
Let’s get started
Italians enjoy plates to share. To begin a meal the table, might be laid with a selection of finely sliced cured meats along with fresh breads, tomatoes and olives. Cheeses can also be added to the mix, to be washed down with a dry Italian wine.
The mains
Here’s something to sink your teeth into. A Bistecca alla Fiorentina is a special T-bone cut of Florentine steak. Usually up to 4cm high and up to 2kg in weight, it’s hung for around 10 days before being cooked and is rich in flavour and perfectly paired with a Tuscan red wine. Don’t be put off if you’re a non-meat eater. According to Visit Tuscany, there are many vegetarian Tuscan dishes such as spelt soups and bread salads.
Complete the experience
Even though Tuscany is not famous for producing an abundance of desserts to satisfy a sweet tooth, a meal can be finished with a slice of Castagnaccio. It’s a nutty and spicy cake derived from the Apennine Mountains and baked with chestnut flour.
However, if it’s a perfect Italian pizza you’re after, it has to be the soft dough variety typically found in Naples, where they are cooked in old-fashioned, 500-degree fornos (ovens). According to an Italian restaurant in Dublin, https://www.forno500.ie/ there are only two artisan wood fired oven manufacturers remaining in Naples.
Pasta dishes are also freshly made with an abundance of sauces and flavours. There’s no doubt that Tuscany offers an all-round taste sensation of healthy, sun-ripened ingredients to make the most delicious dishes popular not only in Italy, but all over the world.