Images by Jason Lowe for Quadrille Publishing
When Lori de Mori first came to Tuscany as a student, she would probably never have imagined that this much loved region of Italy would one day become her home. But home it is, and now De Lori lives in a restored centuries-old farmhouse in the Tuscan hills with her husband, photographer Jason Lowe.
Tuscan food is considered some of Italy’s finest, and in this book, De Lori celebrates the roots, traditions, produce and culinary artisans behind the region’s authentic flavours. Traditionally, Tuscan cooking was a peasant cuisine based on very few simple ingredients, with many of the older generations still remembering the days ‘when the day’s main meal was nothing more than pane e companatico – bread and something to go with the bread,’ and as De Lori points out, ‘of course, sometimes the something that went with bread was more bread’. But even with such frugal ingredients, the Tuscans were able to create some of Italy’s most delicious dishes: ribollita, ‘reboiled’ bread, cabbage and bean soup: panzanella, bread salad: and pappa al pomodoro, bread and tomato soup, all of which bear testimony to the ingenuity and creativity of Tuscan cooks.
The book’s ninety or so recipes reflect the area’s essential ingredients and preference for simplicity, and include dishes like artichoke omelette, spinach flan, farro salad, risotto with leeks and winter squash and olive oil cake. All authentic, appetizing creations that will indeed conjure up the real flavour of Tuscany.
The Recipe
You’ll be surprised at just how good simply boiled beef can be. Serve with mayonnaise and salsa verde, a pungent Italian sauce made from parsley, vinegar, capers, garlic, anchovies, olive oil and sometimes egg.
Ingredients
(for six people)
1kg beef (any combination of shoulder, brisket with some rib attached, silverside and tongue);
1 onion, peeled; 1 carrot; 1 celery stalk; 1 ripe tomato;
Handful flat-leaf parsley; Handful basil leaves;
Sea salt; Pinch black peppercorns.
Preparation
Put all the ingredients in a large stockpot with three litres of water. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook for three hours, skimming off the scum as it rises to the top from time to time.
Remove the meat from the pan (saving the stock to make a soup). Peel away the skin from the tongue, carve the meat into slices and serve with salsa verde and mayonnaise.
