The Tuscan Food Culture in Tenuta Torciano Winery

Tuscan cuisine is built on the freshest ingredients of the season: few, simple, real. At Tenuta Torciano the food tells the same story as the wine, from Bistecca alla Fiorentina to truffles and recipes handed down from family to family.

The basics

Good wine and good food are a must

Like all Italian cuisine, Tuscan cuisine is based on the freshest and simplest ingredients of the season: legumes, cheeses, vegetables and fruit. Typical dishes come from what Tuscans find fresh and local at the market that week, so they stay easy to prepare, with few ingredients. We cannot talk about Tuscan cuisine without mentioning the famous Bistecca alla Fiorentina, the steak that comes from Valdarno and Mugello. It is cut from the Chianina breed and traditionally served rare, with roasted potatoes and beans.

Raw materials, tradition and creativity are the three ingredients that give life to our dishes. At Tenuta Torciano you can taste a wide range of wines and oils, paired with dishes of the true Tuscan tradition.

Tradition

What is Tuscan cuisine

Tuscan food is based on the Italian idea of "poor cooking": simple meals, inexpensive and easy to make in large quantities. Today it remains substantially the same, but by choice rather than necessity. No complicated condiments or elaborate creations here: just fresh, high-quality ingredients that enhance the natural flavor of every dish, with bread and roasted meats as the base of most traditional Tuscan dishes.

Whether you are looking for truffles or mushrooms, picking grapes or tasting a real bottle of Tuscan olive oil, here local and traditional food is a way of life.

To taste

The most popular Tuscan dishes

Like every Italian region, Tuscany has its own ingredients, recipes and food traditions, best discovered while eating out. Start your meal with an appetizer of cold cuts or mixed meats, always popular, or try something more special and order the liver crostini, thin slices of lightly toasted bread spread with chicken liver pate. Tuscans love their soups: try the ribollita, a vegetable and bread soup that makes a delicious, classic comfort food; pappa al pomodoro, a tomato soup, is perfect for winter; in summer there is panzanella, a cold bread salad soaked in balsamic vinegar and mixed with onions, tomatoes and basil, seasoned with olive oil.

If you prefer pasta, the famous truffle tagliatelle, pasta covered in truffle sauce, is not to be missed. Both black and white truffles are very rare, found only in a few areas of the world, and Tuscany has both growing on its hills. You can also try pappardelle, very large egg noodles in a strong sauce made from wild hare, the king of Tuscan pasta, the traditional lasagna, or a variation like pasta with wild boar sauce. Tuscan cuisine also has many roast meats, especially game such as deer, pheasant or wild boar, used as a sauce for pasta or served as a second course.

Finish your meal with classic Tuscan cantucci dipped in vin santo, the sweet dessert wine that softens these hard almond cookies and cleans the palate after a great meal. Or, for truffles in a less rustic and sweeter form, order truffle ice cream, a scoop of ice cream with truffle shavings on top.

Live it at the estate

How to taste these dishes at Tenuta Torciano

At Tenuta Torciano Winery you can taste all these delicious dishes in our wine tastings, lunch in the cellar or lunch in the vineyard, our truffle hunting experiences and our fun cooking classes. Read more in our Cook Book and on our website www.torciano.com.

Come and discover Tuscan food culture up close, one dish at a time.