During your stay in Arezzo, in Tuscany, you can taste from elaborate dishes to peasant traditions in the recipes of Arezzo area.
Tortelli del Casentino
Tortelli of the Casentino are a first course typical of Tuscany. It is made of tortelli with egg pasta. The filling is a delicious cream prepared with boiled and mashed potatoes, garlic, tomatoes, pecorino cheese and pepper. The tradition requires the potato Cetica, a type of typical local potato that comes with red skin and white inside, with a delicate flavor and present in many pasta recipes from tortelli to gnocchi with ricotta of Casentino. The ideal seasoning for these ravioli is white, with butter and sage.
Tortelli of the Casentino photo ifood
Crostini neri
The black crostini are a traditional appetizer of Arezzo. It is crostini with a dark sauce made of chicken livers. Chop the chicken livers and cook with olive oil, salt and pepper, vin santo. The result is a delicious sauce with a characteristic flavor with which you can garnish the crostini.
Maccheroni al sugo d’ocio
The macaroni with sauce of ocio are a first course of pasta traditionally dedicated to holidays and celebrations. In particular, this pasta was prepared in the days of threshing of wheat and offered to all the farmers. The Ocio is a type of white goose that was slaughtered for the occasion. The meat is used to make the sauce and then is served as a second dish. To make the sauce of ocio prepare a fry of onion, carrot and celery finely chopped, add the meat into pieces and blend with wine. Then add the tomatoes and broth. Cooking lasts a couple of hours to get a soft meat and a tasty sauce.
Anatra in porchetta
The roasted duck is a meat dish that requires a lot of preparation. Prepare the aromas like sage, garlic, rosemary, fennel, lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil. The duck is immersed in the compound and some incisions are done with a knife to make it absorb the aromas. Leave it macerating a whole day and then proceed to cooking. The duck is put in the oven and mixed with white wine.
Tuscan panzanella
Fegatelli all’aretina
The aretina livers come from a long poor tradition. The entrails were the waste of slaughter that were recovered from poor families and stored to prepare different recipes. To prepare aretina liver you need pork liver that has to be cut into thin slices, seasoned with salt and fennel, even lard in some cases. Add bay leaves and roll up the slices in a net made with the gut of the pig.
Panzanella toscana
The Tuscan panzanella is a simple dish of the Tuscan tradition. It is a poor and rustic dish, which can vary in the doses of ingredients because it was made with what was in the house from stale bread to the vegetables. The bread is soaked in water then add spring onions, cucumbers, vinegar, salt and pepper. Panzanella must rest for a few hours and is a fresh dish perfect for summer. There are several variations with the addition of tomatoes and olives.
