The first town we stayed in was Siena, which is about a 90 minute drive outside of Florence. We stayed for two days and here is what I ate.
Meal one, three courses. First course, four types of anti-pastia. Clockwise from top, bruschetta, fresh and aged pecorino cheeses, grilled bread with olive oil and garlic, raw artichoke salad. Everything on this plate was amazing, but I have to say I loved the raw artichoke salad. I had never had artichoke raw before. And the fresh pecorino cheese was also delicious. It's not in the picture, but they served a chili jam to go with the fresh cheese and it was amazing.
For the second course I had a risotto with radicchio, cooking in red wine. It was a beautiful and delicious plate.
This dessert is somewhat hard to describe. It was like a coffee mousse on top of a sponge cake, topped with whipped cream and chocolate sauce. And yes, it was also delicious.
Day two, four courses but I only have pictures of the first two. For the anti pasti, fried zucchini flowers and sage leaves. This might have been my favorite anti pasti of the trip. Two things I had never had before and it was incredibly delicious. Lemon wedges were served on the side to squeeze over the fried leaves and flowers. Again, incredible. I'm drooling now just thinking about it.
Second course, pici pasta with a sauce of fresh tomato, garlic, and breadcrumbs topped with parmesan cheese. Pici pasta is a type of pasta specific to Siena. It's like a really thick spaghetti. This was maybe my favorite pasta dish of the trip. The tomatoes were so fresh and the pasta perfectly cooked. It was fantastic.
Stayed tuned for more Eats in Italy as well as new recipes. It's good to be back.
