Mediterrean Tuscany -Traditional dishes

The cuisine in this area is very traditional, based on dishes made with local products, and can be divided into two categories: one based on sea food and the other on products from the hinterland. Fish cooking uses top quality fish, abundant in the channels, with original recipes for mackerel, sardines and anchovies. There are many specific methods of preparation and numerous roast dishes. Boiled octopus is a typical dish, as are stuffed mussels, steamed wedge shells, cuttlefish and beet, dried salt cod with potatoes, cacciucco (spiced fish soup) and stuffed fish pasta, to name but a few.
The country cuisine is based on roast and steamed dishes using farmyard animals and game (hare and wild boar).

First courses which enhance natural aromas are particularly flavoursome: soups and hand made pasta. There is a good range of side dishes, soufflés and simple, tasty desserts. Vegetables and fruit are exceptional. The olive oil is some of the best in Italy. Wines, always well produced, have reached excellent levels of quality in recent years which have enabled them to be labelled Denominazione di Origine Controllata (D.O.C.).

The mystery of cacciucco
Cooking experts say that cacciucco is not simply the result of mixing different ingredients, but also mixing different recipes. It is a mix of all the methods imported from all over the world, as normally happens in sea ports, of preparing what is in essence a universal dish: fish soup.
Important arguments support this theory. The first comes from Devoto-Oli, which traces the origins of the word cacciucco to the Turkish Kuzuk, which means small or, literally, finely chopped: hence the meaning of cacciucco as finely chopped soup (fish, of course). This is countered by the opinion of an expert on the cuisine of this area, Aldo Santini. He maintains that the dish has its origins on sixteenth century galleys, where it was prepared to feed the slaves. These origins recall the most ancient maritime traditions, including the Phoenicians.
Whatever the case, one thing is certain. Compared to ancient times, the method of preparing cacciucco has changed over the last few generations. The ingredients are less varied and of better quality: less fish, but more flavoursome. In other words, less fish bones. Overall, it is better this way.