The past month in my Tuscan kitchen

Spring and the countryside smells | A recap of what I’ve been cooking lately | Peas risotto | Kohlrabi pasta | Sautéed chard with cherry tomatoes | Pork cutlets

If there is one sense that is heightened in spring, that is the sense of smell.

While I’m sitting at my kitchen table writing this newsletter, the intensely sweet perfume of the blooming acacia tree wafts through the open window, making me crave acacia flower fritters. I might add them to tomorrow’s cooking class menu.

Walking along my country road, I catch the wild fennel aniseed smell when it brushes my legs, I crush mint and wild lemon balm to inhale their balsamic smell, and then, when the road bends, I’m overwhelmed by the elderflowers blooming and dancing in the breeze.

Have I ever told you how excited and anxious I get when I see that elderflowers are blooming all over the countryside, along white roads, next to little streams, in the most shadowy and humid corners of the fields? I feel a frenzy to pick them, fry them, make a cordial out of them, infuse them in cream to make panna cotta or pastry cream, or simply inhale their smell, my favourite smell along with basil and bergamot. I’m still waiting for the perfect day to go and pick them, as this year I’m planning to make an elderflower infused vinegar, along with a few bottles of syrup.

So, what’s up?

The season of cooking classes just began and today I’m recovering from the busiest week I can remember: a market cooking class, two classes with large groups, three pasta masterclasses for Birra Moretti, an uncountable amount of tortelli maremmani, fried Tuscan chicken, a sensational roasted tomato risotto with stracciatella, strawberry biancomangiare and lemon pannacotta.

But I’ve also cooked quick meals for my family, focused on vegetables and simple ingredients, to balance the cooking class feasts.

Last but not least…

Instagram, with its continuous random changes, is focusing now on videos, giving photos and texts a marginal role. There’s not much we can do about it, but we can choose where to spend our time.

We’ve chosen years ago to share our most valuable content on the blog, through the podcast, and on this newsletter, so you know where you will always find us, in this private, algorithm-free, kind, cozy space. So help us sharing our newsletter with your friends and family, so that we can build our community here!

When you join our subscription-based newsletter, you are actively contributing to the making of Letters from Tuscany. 310 people are already supporting our project, thank you!

If you subscribed to Letters from Tuscany, expect an email in the next hours with all the ingredients for our Sunday Cook Along!

And now a little recap of what I’ve been cooking lately, before opening the doors wide for the good season.

Butternut and feta fritters

I made Nigel Slater’s butternut and feta fritters - baked instead of fried -, and I guess I’ll be making them again with zucchini and carrots. I served them with a dollop of yoghurt mixed with olive oil and dried mint.

Pea risotto

I made a clean-the-freezer risotto, with a bottle of chicken stock and frozen peas. I actually made it several times over the last weeks - as I had a couple of bottles of chicken stock in the freezer, left from the cookbook shootings, and a large bag of frozen peas to go through. I find this risotto comforting, easy to make, and a perfect weeknight meal. To make it more gentle and refined, I added also a good spoonful of finely chopped chervil.

Rigatoni alla buttera

Rigatoni alla buttera is a rustic, hearty pasta dish from Maremma, with a meat sauce made with pancetta, prosciutto and sausage - originally wild boar sausage -, that was much more affordable for butteri - the Tuscan cowboys - than beef. We filmed a video recipe for Latte Maremma, but we thought you would have loved to have also a detailed recipe to follow, so here it is.

Rigatoni alla buttera

Sautéed chard with cherry tomatoes and lemon zest.

I confess that this Ottolenghi recipe for rainbow chard with tomatoes and green olives was the inspiration, then I got too lazy, busy, or late (you choose) to follow all the steps and took a shortcut. I rinsed the chard thoroughly and collected the leaves and stalks, still dripping, into a large pan. Salt, cover with a lid, heat on medium flame, and cook until the chard is wilted: the moisture from the washing water will steam the chard and cook it down.

When the chard is wilted, drizzle some extra virgin olive oil into the pan, add a handful of halved cherry tomatoes, two crushed cloves of garlic, and the zest of half a lemon. Cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes, stirring often, until the tomatoes are collapsing. Adjust the seasoning and serve. This is great as a side dish, but also as a main course with plenty of crusty bread and a poached egg on top.

I met kohlrabi and fell in love with this little alien!

It was my first time with kohlrabi, and I love it. I made pasta with it, but I have to be honest, I don’t remember exactly what I put in that pasta. I peeled the kohlrabi and diced it, then I cooked it in a pan with olive oil and garlic. While the pasta and the kohlrabi were cooking, I made a pesto with sun-dried tomatoes and almonds, and then I tossed the pasta with all the ingredients. Delicious! I have another kohlrabi in the fridge, so if you are interested I can note down all the ingredients and share the recipe in one of the next newsletters.

Pork cutlets

This is probably one of my favourite pork cuts. We call it scamerita in Tuscany: it is marbled and deliciously fat, from the neck. I used to grill it on a very hot pan, and that was good, but my mum suggested coating it with breadcrumbs, and that was a game-changer. I quickly brush the cutlets with olive oil and mustard, so that the breadcrumbs can stick to the meat, then drizzle very little olive oil in a hot pan and cook the cutlets on both sides until golden brown.

Thank you for reading,
Giulia & Tommaso