A Tuscan dinner at home

Antipasto

Crostini toscani

Toast with chicken liver pâté · 40 minutes

You’ll need

• 1 onion
• 1 baguette or white country bread
• 14 oz chicken livers (400 g)
• 2 tbsp butter (30 g)
• 2 tbsp capers
• 4 anchovy fillets
• scant ½ cup dry white wine or Vin Santo (100 ml)

How to make it

1. Soften the finely chopped onion in the butter.
2. Add the livers and cook through. Add the wine and let it bubble away.
3. Add the capers and anchovies, and chop everything into a coarse paste.
4. Spread on slices of toasted bread.

Wine: Vernaccia di San Gimignano, a dry white

Primo

Ribollita

Thick bread, bean and kale soup · 1½ hours

You’ll need

• 1 onion
• 2 carrots
• 2 celery stalks
• 10 oz Tuscan kale (lacinato) or regular kale (300 g)
• 7 oz day-old country bread (200 g)
• 2 cans cannellini beans, 15 oz each (about 800 g total)
• 1 can crushed tomatoes, 14 oz (400 g)
• scant ½ cup olive oil (100 ml)
• salt and pepper

How to make it

1. Soften the chopped vegetables in the oil.
2. Add the kale, tomatoes, half the beans and about 4 cups (1 liter) of water. Simmer for an hour.
3. Mash the rest of the beans and stir them in.
4. Tear in the bread and let it soften in the soup.
5. Serve with a generous drizzle of olive oil. It’s even better reheated the next day.

Wine: Chianti Classico, a medium-bodied red

Secondo

Bistecca alla fiorentina

A thick grilled T-bone steak · 30 minutes, plus resting

You’ll need

• 1 T-bone or porterhouse steak, about 2½ lb (1.2 kg), 1½ to 2 inches (4 to 5 cm) thick
• 2 sprigs rosemary
• flaky sea salt and black pepper
• olive oil

How to make it

1. Take the steak out of the fridge an hour before cooking.
2. Grill over very high heat, or in a cast-iron pan, for 5 to 6 minutes per side.
3. Stand the steak up on its bone and cook a few minutes more.
4. Rest for 10 minutes, slice, and season with flaky salt, pepper and olive oil. In Florence, it’s served rare.

Wine: Brunello di Montalcino, a full-bodied red

Dolce

Cantucci and Vin Santo

Almond cookies dipped in sweet wine · 1 hour

You’ll need

• 1 orange, for the zest
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose flour (250 g)
• ¾ cup sugar (150 g)
• 1 cup whole almonds (150 g)
• 1 tsp baking powder

How to make it

1. Heat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
2. Mix everything into a dough and shape it into two long logs.
3. Bake for 25 minutes and let cool a little.
4. Slice diagonally and bake for another 10 minutes until crisp.
5. Serve with Vin Santo, and dip the cookies in the wine.

Wine: Vin Santo, sweet

Shopping list

Produce

• 1 onion and 1 extra onion for the soup
• 2 carrots
• 2 celery stalks
• 10 oz Tuscan kale (300 g)
• 2 sprigs rosemary
• 1 orange

Meat

• 14 oz chicken livers (400 g)
• 1 T-bone or porterhouse steak, about 2½ lb (1.2 kg)

Bakery

• 1 baguette
• 7 oz day-old country bread (200 g)

Dairy and eggs

• butter
• 2 eggs

Pantry

• 2 cans cannellini beans, 15 oz each
• 1 can crushed tomatoes, 14 oz
• 1 jar capers
• anchovy fillets
• olive oil
• flaky sea salt
• all-purpose flour
• sugar
• whole almonds
• baking powder
• dry white wine or Vin Santo for cooking

Wine

• Vernaccia di San Gimignano (antipasto)
• Chianti Classico (primo)
• Brunello di Montalcino (secondo)
• Vin Santo (dolce)

Any good wine shop can help you find Tuscan wines. If the exact bottle isn’t in stock, ask for a Chianti Classico or a Rosso di Montalcino.