The food heroes of Tuscany are celebrated in Beaneaters and Bread Soup, a new book that shows how people in Tuscany are keeping their traditional cuisine alive.
Lardo di Colonnata
Fausto Guadagni is a Tuscan food hero. Based high in the Apuane mountains of northern Tuscany, he is one of a small number of traditional producers of Lardo di Colonnata. This specially preserved pig fat, which has been eaten in the Tuscan village of Colonnata since Roman times, came under threat a few years ago from EU bureaucracy and corporate food producers.
In 1996 the authorities closed down the lardo cellars, seemingly unable to understand that traditional production (salt as a preservative and marble for refrigeration) could create safe, high quality food. When their investigations proved that Lardo di Colonnata was indeed safe and hygenic, large commercial producers got in on the act and threatened small producers like Fausto. For a time it looked as if this ancient delicacy would only be produced in modern commercial warehouses in future – instead of the traditional marble cellars, hidden high in the Tuscan hills.
But Fausto and the other lardo producers from Colonnata fought back and mounted an expensive legal challenge. Now the name Lardo di Colonnata is protected, and only lardo traditionally made in the village can be called such.
Beaneaters and Bread Soup
Fausto and his fight to protect Lardo di Colonnata, is just one of 25 fascinating stories described in Beaneaters and Bread Soup (pub. Quadrille, RRP £20) by Lori de Mori and Jason Lowe. The couple, long time residents of Tuscany, give readers a series of fascinating portraits of the people who keep traditional Tuscan cuisine alive. Essentially a series of beautifully illustrated interviews, the book gives a real insight into life in Tuscany – and the importance attached to traditional methods of food production. The title refers to the nickname that the poor people of Tuscany were given by other Italians – mangiafagioli, ‘bean eaters’ (meat was too expensive). Bread soup, or ribollita, is a typical Tuscan dish that uses up stale bread.
Saffron, Vin Santo and Porcini
There is Gionni Pruneti, who produces organic olive oil, saffron and irises on the family farm in Chianti. He learned about farming from his grandfather. The irises – the symbol of Florence – are harvested for their root, which as dried ‘orrisroot’ is used in perfumes, soaps, gin and as a remedy for everything from coughs to snakebites.
Then there is the Contini Bonacossi family, who make fine wines – including traditional Vin Santo - at their estate at the Villa di Capezzana; Silavano Mugnaini, mushroom hunter, who Lori joins on a hunt for the superb porcini mushrooms that feature in so many Tuscan dishes; and Giovanni Fabbri, an artisan pasta maker based in the little town of Strada in Chianti – the heart of Chianti wine country.
Tuscan Recipes
Beaneaters and Bread Soup also gives you the chance to recreate some traditional Tuscan dishes, as it contains 90 authentic recipes from Tuscany. These range from Nettle and Ricotta Ravioli to Pappardelle with Hare Sauce. But this is more than a cookbook. With its atmospheric photos and sense of place, it’s a book that makes you want to book a flight to Italy straight away.
