Country Vacations & Resorts

Here’s a very yummy update from Matt at Thrifty Tuscany on Christmas holiday meals – Tuscan style. I hope he will forgive me for showing this fantastic image of dessert (Torrone) first!

What is the most appreciated thing in Tuscany at Christmas? Food of course!

Since times long ago the preferred way to spend the holidays in Tuscany is around a table with good food and good company. And good food is also the perfect means to make new friends. Families with their relatives get together to celebrate the festivities with long hours around a dining table. The luckiest ones can warm up the evening with the romantic flame of a fireplace, but in any case a Christmas tree and nativity scene are always present.

Needless to say, preparations for the dinner require quite some time and go on from early morning, often with the help of a handful of people. The dinner usually includes a variety of appetizers, at least two first entries, two meat dishes, various kinds of side dishes, cheese, fruit and typical Tuscan desserts.

Among the most common appetizers you will find tarts, also known as “crostini“. These are bread slices covered with sauces.

Splint and liver crostini are the most Tuscan there is, but you can exercise your fantasy and produce a number of variations. Butter, salmon and lemon is also popular, but also parsley, boiled egg, garlic and anchovies, without forgetting mushroom, truffle and raw sausage condiments. Cold cuts with oil and vinegar preserves is an evergreen on the Tuscan Christmas table, altogether with Fettunta (the Tuscan name of Bruschetta), which can be simple or with various condiments on.

Among the classic first entries a Tuscan table cannot be left empty of at Christmas is a plate of filled pasta in a meat stock. Pasta usually is Tortellini or Cappelletti, both small and filled with meat and spices. The stock should be the boiling water of Lesso or Bollito preparation, which includes chicken, veal, entrails and vegetables, and is served as one of the main courses. Another popular first entry is Ravioli Gnudi (naked ravioli) or Malfatti, lightly boiled dumplings made of ricotta cheese, spinach and egg, in a meat or butter sauce. Other kinds of filled pasta, such as Ravioli, or Tagliatelle egg noodles with a rich meat sauce are also very common.

As anticipated, Bollito and the more dainty Lesso are a tradition on Tuscan tables at Christmas. It is served on a large tray and accompanied by a variety of oil and vinegar vegetable preserves, such as artichokes hearts, small white onions, spicy peppers, and green and black olives. Dressings are also very important; the most common are Agresto, Salsa Verde made with parsley, and homemade mayonnaise.

Following the boiled meat, roasted pork, chicken, or fowl meat with roasted potatoes is served. Stewed wild boar is also a common alternative. Second courses are always accompanied by one or more side dishes. Green salad dressed with olive oil, vinegar and salt, and a vegetable pie, called Sformato are the most common.

If after also eating cheese along with dry and fresh seasonal fruits you still have an empty space in your stomach, you must try the classic Tuscan sweets.

Copate, Panforte, Panpepato, Torrone, and Cavallucci all originated in Tuscany, while Panettone and Pandoro are from Milan and Verona respectively.

Enjoy your Tuscan Christmas Dinner!

Matt writes for Thriftytuscany.com, a direct booking website with apartments and hotels – also an excellent site to help you find your perfect wedding villa in Tuscany.

Follow our Christmas in Tuscany mini-series starting here.