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A
cuisine that follows the rules of the sea
by Davide Paolini
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Fish is the supreme element
of Pisa’s cuisine, but it also includes “earth” specialities
from the local peasant tradition.
The province of Pisa is varied and full of contrasts. Its
gastronomy also reflects these contradictions, represented
by two opposites: “land” and “sea”, in the sense that one
is a cuisine of simple, peasant origin while the other uses
the produce of the sea. Pisa is not just the river Arno, the
Leaning Tower and the famous university - the city’s make-up
still reflects its past as a maritime republic. Thus seafood
is the heart of its gastronomy, though the province of Pisa
also presents a series of fine traditional “earth” products,
such as Montegemoli bread (a round, ochre-yellow and fragrant
bread cooked in a wood-burning oven, used to make bruschetta
and in soups, and goes well with Tuscan pork products), black-eyed
beans, Lari cherries and “extra-virgin” olive oil, used to
prepare excellent local dishes. Last but not least, the hills
of the province are beginning to produce fine wines.
Yet fish reigns supreme in Pisa’s cuisine. In the past, one
of the great traditional specialities was cee alla pisana,
the term in dialect for the baby eels caught in the river
Arno. According to this recipe, the eels were sautéed with
garlic, olive oil, sage and Parmesan cheese, but nowadays
they are no longer to be had (“cee” fishing is prohibited)
and have been replaced by whitebait.
Surprisingly, stockfish is also popular. It features in local
dishes with leeks or chickpeas or with a sweet-and-sour sauce
or onions and tomatoes. Chickpeas are also widely used, especially
to make the speciality known as cecina (though Genoa and Leghorn
also lay claim to its invention), a sort of flat bread very
similar to the Genoese farinata made with chickpea meal cooked
in copper baking-tins in a wood-burning oven. Vegetables grow
in abundance here, given the mild climate of this part of
Tuscany, and are used mostly to make delicious quiches. Pulses
are very popular and provide the flavours of an inland gastronomy.
San Michele bean soup, bordatino (a soup made of red beans,
black cabbage and corn meal) and al fiasco beans are some
of the dishes in which they feature. The fresh pasta dishes
seasoned with strong sauces based on game and poultry such
as boar, hare and duck are also of great interest.
From the local peasant heritage come recipes like maggese,
made with diced shoulder of Pisan pig and pecorino cheese,
pig’s cheek mousse, excellent spread on warm toast, and testicciola
alla pisana, head of calf or lamb cooked in water with spices
and herbs, boned and seasoned with capers, anchovies, pickles,
salt, pepper and olive oil. An interesting example of the
“poor” peasant cuisine, minestra sull sciò is typical of Volterra.
A sautéed mixture of finely chopped garlic, “extra-virgin”
olive oil from the Pisan hills, rosemary, tomato and water
is used to prepare a broth in which home-made pasta like quadrucci
or tagliatelle is cooked. The result is a soup served piping
hot, sprinkled with grated cheese.
Towards the heights of Monte Pisano, near the Colline Metallifere,
the woods produce delicious products such as mushrooms (especially
honey mushrooms, used to make a tasty purée) and above all
truffles from the area of San Miniato, where a fair is held
every year, during the last three weekends of November, to
celebrate this delicacy.
As to Pisa’s sweets, the famous torta coi bischeri is a cake
made of short-crust pastry with a rich filling of rice cooked
in milk flavoured with lemon zest, vanilla, candied fruit,
chocolate, currants, maraschino, pine-nuts and a touch of
nutmeg.
Finally, the province of Pisa also includes among its varied
resources a flourishing wine-making industry: typical local
wines include the Chianti Colline Pisane (protected by the
DOCG label), Bianco Pisano di San Torpé, Colli dell’Etruria
Centrale and Montescudaio on the border with the province
of Leghorn.
Davide Paolini, “gastronaut”
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