The Italian cornucopia of the Autumn harvest comes to mind even as Thanksgiving weekend winds down in the Unites States. Lines are blurred when thinking of fruits and vegetables in California for most are available all year long. The anticipation of Italian seasonal produce is mouth watering and adds to the excitement of waiting for special dishes prepared with the freshest ingredients.
Food markets are patchworks of color and aromas. You will be inspired…to taste them, cook them and yes, even join a local art studio to capture them in an oil painting!
In the heart of Florence are two large markets: The Central Market, Mercato Centrale, near San Lorenzo and Sant’Ambrogio near the church of the same name. Many smaller neighborhoods in Florence have weekly and/or daily stands. My very favorite stop for produce is in Tavarnuzze, a small town on the way to Impruneta, 20 minutes south of Florence. Augustino’s fruit and vegetable shop is a boutique. Amazing!
At Augustino’s, by the end of October or beginning of November, depending on the harvest, the freshly stone milled chestnut flour that comes from the Apennine chestnuts should be delivered.
My husband was raised in Pistoia, which lies at the foothills of the Apennine mountains and is considered one of the capitals of chestnuts. In November, when the best of the chestnut crop is ready and the grinding of the flour has been completed, you can buy chestnut crepes from local stands. They are called Necci. Piping hot, either with sugar and/or fresh ricotta cheese. WOW. If you love chestnuts you can even have a great chestnut gelato at many of the fabulous ice cream shops in Florence. (I am a big fan of the gelato shop, Perchè No!)
It is imperative to have fresh flower every season to make the Tuscan chestnut cake “castagnaccio”. This is a chestnut flour cake (castagna in Italian means chestnut) with raisins, pine nuts, walnuts and rosemary. Many Florentines have various opinions as to whether or not one needs to use rosemary or walnuts with pine nuts etc. I love this cake and have fun experimenting with some of the ingredients. I really do not recommend attempting to bake one unless you for sure know where and when the flour was milled.
You can order the best Castagnaccio in Trattoria Ruggero on Via Senese 89r, Florence, Italy. This is one of the best traditional family run trattorias in Florence and reservations are necessary. A suggestion is to ask that an order of castagnaccio be saved for your dessert as they run out of it usual by the end of the first seating!
In September grapes are harvested for the new wine. The sweet strawberry grape (uva fragola) is used for making a sweet focaccia called schiacciata con l’uva. Most good bars and pastry shops in Florence make their own version and when you find the one you love, you will make sure you return to that bar to have a slice with your cappuccino.
http://www.emikodavies.com/blog/schiacciata-alluva-florentine-grape-bread/
Notice that I started with dessert; well I guess you now know my Achilles’ heel!
Back to the in produce in season: Mushrooms, Mushrooms and Mushrooms! Whether it is Portabello, Ovoli, or so many other varieties, it is the PORCINI that is the king of the fungi. The scent alone can drive you wild.
As you can see from the photo, they are not cheap at 25 euros a kilo. They are worth it.
Not sure I would buy them unless I knew my source was reliable.
Have them with pasta tagliatelle, or grilled caps with olive oil garlic and parsley or Funghi trifolati, which are gently sauteed in olive oil and garlic. Below is a fun dish made with potatoes and mushrooms. Learned it at a local cooking school.
Now, let’s move on to White Truffles or tartuffi which are now in season. Porcini mushrooms seem cheap compared to the price tag of 2,200 euros a kilo! At 20 euros an order, it is a much better buy to eat them with pasta at Trattoria Ruggero.
Lots of variety of pumpkin and squash to be found. Pumpkin or zucca is a great filling for ravioli and also makes great gnocchi. At your favorite vegetable stand you can indicate how large of a slice of zucca you would like and it will be cut and packaged for you on the spot.
Blood oranges are in season as well as beautiful fennel that together make a great Sicilian salad. Here is a good recipe to give you an idea, however I would not use the red onion: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Sicilian-Fennel-and-Orange-Salad-with-Red-Onion-and-Mint-107626
Now one of the biggest highlights of being in Italy in the late Fall is tasting the freshly pressed olive oil… Liquid Gold! We packed 4 cans of these to take back to California.
I can go on and on. What about broccolo romanesco, rape, kale (cavolo nero) and all the root veggies?
Bottom line, if you plan a trip to Tuscany in the Fall you will have many many great seasonal dishes to enjoy.
PS, there are many great Italian food dishes to enjoy in ALL seasons…stay tuned.
fondlyfromflorence&beyond 