May 27, 2007
Tuscany.
One of the most photogenic landscapes in the world. The land of delicious food and pleasant wines.
Lines of cypress trees on the horizon, lonely trees, blooming poppy fields. Vineyards, sunflower fields.
Medici family, Dante Alighieri, Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli, Galileo Galilei and more and more.
The medieval towns are perched on top of the hills.
Florence, San Giminiano, Pisa, Siena…
Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its influence on high culture. It is regarded as the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance and of the foundations of the Italian language. The prestige established by the Tuscan dialect’s use in literature by Dante Alighieri, Petrarch, Giovanni Boccaccio, Niccolò Machiavelli and Francesco Guicciardini led to its subsequent elaboration as the language of culture throughout Italy. It has been home to many influential figures in the history of art and science, and contains well-known museums such as the Uffizi and the Palazzo Pitti. Tuscany is also known for its wines, including Chianti, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, Morellino di Scansano, Brunello di Montalcino and white Vernaccia di San Gimignano. Having a strong linguistic and cultural identity, it is sometimes considered “a nation within a nation”.
Simplicity is central to the Tuscan cuisine. Legumes, bread, cheese, vegetables, mushrooms, and fresh fruit are used. A good example of typical Tuscan food is ribollita, a notable soup whose name literally means “reboiled”. Like most Tuscan cuisine, the soup has peasant origins. Ribollita was originally made by reheating (i.e. reboiling) the leftover minestrone or vegetable soup from the previous day. There are many variations, but the main ingredients always include leftover bread, cannellini beans, and inexpensive vegetables such as carrot, cabbage, beans, silverbeet, cavolo nero (Tuscan kale), onion, and olive oil. Wine is a famous and common product of Tuscany. Chianti is arguably the most well-known internationally.
So let’s get to that Tuscan chicken.
You need olive oil, butter, chicken breasts, sliced mushrooms, garlic, onion, leek, Italian seasoning, chili flakes (optional), salt, pepper, chicken or vegetable stock, heavy cream, Parmesan cheese, baby spinach leaves.
Heat the oil and melt the butter.
Season the chicken with salt and pepper, and cook the first side until golden, then flip and cook for a few more minutes. Add minced garlic. Add chicken stock. Season with Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and chili flakes. Add sliced mushrooms. Cook another 10 – 15 minutes. Remove the lid, take the chicken out of the pot onto a plate, and set it aside.
Stir in the heavy cream and the freshly grated parmesan in the pot. Add spinach leaves to the pot and allow them to wilt.
Put the chicken back in.
Serve with boiled rice or whatever.
And that’s it.
And last but not least, let your imagination run free.