Valentina's Italian Regional Cookery [antikvár]

THE REGIONSTUSCANYT"luscany is the land of my forefathers, and it may be this that makes each return visit like a homecoming, or it may just be that the landscape, the people and the atmosphere are as familiar and comfortable to me as an old armchair. So many English and American migrants set up home here, crowding out the real Tuscans and attempting to adopt a land that never will be theirs, that parts of the region now seem like Surrey. Yet Tuscany is still the most Italian of all the regions -there have been fewer foreign invasions here than anywhere else, and the race and language are almost pure. Italians say that if you want to hear real Italian spoken, you must speak to a Tuscan. Genuine Italian blue blood runs through the veins of the Tuscan nobility, and it is within these circles that my cousins and I grew up, our happy childhood spent in the gardens of our respecnve villas or in family vineyards and olive groves. What I see now as this invasion of Italophiles is peculiar and alien to the region that is part of my life.So many books are published about Tuscany and its food; yet, if you know the region, you will be aware that the natives are and probably always will be 7 Toscani Mangiafagioli' (the Tuscan Beaneaters), and what could be more basic and simple than a plate of simmered beans? The Renaissance was responsible for taking art into the Florentine kitchens, thanks largely to Caterina de' Medici's entourage who were keen to see a twelve-year-old's whims appeased. (After all, most of Europe's political future depended upon keeping her sweet.) So out of the kitchen flowed tagliatelle dressed with rose water and cinnamon; soufflés of every descripdon - with shrimps and asparagus and herbs; and incredibly delicious sweetmeats and cakes.In contrast to this more refined fare, Tuscan cooking encompasses rustic food such as roast meats, sim ply cooked over a grill or on the spit; endless different bean dishes; simple vegetable dishes; stews and pot roasts; huge steaks; and full-bodied minestroni along with lots of other thick, nourishing soups. The Tuscan nature is too precise, ironic and down-to-earth to cope with bright colours and flights of fancy. The scent on the air in the region's kitchens is of gently simmering soups and meat