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Truffles

A Real Tuscan Treat

Where did you find that monster, surely you can almost go into retirement now!!!
Three days to explore together some of the secrets of the Tuscan kitchen. We will stroll the streets of Siena, explore the country roads of the Crete Sense on the trail of some of Tuscany’s best kept secrets, we will return to the farm to gather in the kitchen to put all this new found knowledge to work and of course enjoy the fruits of our labours!

Monday
We’ll start our week with a visit the medieval city of Siena, famed for it’s beautiful architecture and of course the ‘Palio’ horse race which takes places in ‘Il Campo’, the main square, twice a year on July 2 in honour of the Madonna, then again on August 16 to celebrate the Assumption . We will stroll through the narrow streets and little alleys recounting a little of the story and history of this famed place, but our main mission is to visit some of the grocery stores and delicatessens to choose our fare for the week and to understand how regional the Tuscan food really is, the vegetables in season, the difference between virgin and extra virgin oil, the various varieties of prosciutto ham and salamis, honey, vinegar and to buy dried beans …the Tuscans have the nick name of bean eaters!!. You too will also have the chance to purchase some delicacies for yourself with the expert eye of Giorgio, your chef and mentor. We will take all our purchases back to the farm to start our culinary experience.
This afternoon you will master the art of fresh pasta using different of types of flour including chestnut, accompanied by wild boar and mushroom. We’ll also use bread in the true Tuscan tradition to make panzanella e and crostini… fundamental in the typical menu. To finish off course there will be dessert!

Wednesday

Have you ever dreamed of unearthing a treasure? Or discovering gold at the end of the rainbow, well you could be a little nearer than you think. Our destination is the famous Crete Senese, a barren and arid land which holds many secrets! Today we will attempt to unearth two of them; the famous white truffle and the precious saffron. Make sure that you have sturdy walking shoes and a couple of layers of clothes as we descend through the open ploughed fields to the wooded area along the river. Truffle hunting needs diligence, which the dogs have and patience, which we must have, only if we are very lucky we will find a truffle. We will continue our adventure delving deeper into this rich land and visit a saffron farm.
We will return to try out a couple of recipes using both!

Friday

We’ll take a little walk this morning to observe how the olive harvest is going, then we’ll drive over to the mill to see the actual pressing, privy to the first tasting of extra virgin olive oil! Next stop is a sheep cheese farm, to see the making and various types of ‘pecorino’ sheep cheese and ricotta, also a goat farm where delicious ‘caprino’ is made. We will come back and have a comparison tasting of olive oil.
Naturally we will base our menu today on cheese… as we stay in Italian a ‘Giorno di Golosi’
We will prepare this afternoon gnocchi, with butter and sage served in parmesan cheese baskets are just two of the recipes from our menu today.

For information about prices or for general information please contact us!!