A BIT OF HISTORY:

WHEN MAESTRO PUCCINI COOKED

We are a land of huntsmen. It couldn't be otherwise. Hunting originates with man, in fact it was the mainmeans of survival. In Tuscany, hunting is historic and tradition. Today it is also a way to conserve nature, thanks to the help of shotguns. Versilia has always been a land of huntsmen just like the rest of the coast given that there are many lakes (in the south Massaciuccoli, in the north Porta), pinewoods, thick copses (before the first pinewoods which were planted in 1700 s), swamps, rivulets and canals. The riviera is abundant with migratory and resident game and the wild boar has been the king for centuries because it is also diffuse on the Alpi Apuane. Among the millions of huntsmen who have taken a shot in our coppices, the most famous has been without a doubt Giacomo Puccini, the composer of Bohème and Tosca and who lived the greater part of his life in Torre del Lago. Recipes have been dedicated to him. The most famous, perhaps, being “Folaghe (Coot) alla Puccini ” found in many trattorias at Torre del Lago and Massaciuccoli. The cooking of game in Versilia, is supplemented by other traditional dishes such as: pappardelle with hare sauce, wild boar with olivesand hare hunter style. Recipes nowadays are lighter, plainer and often revised to take into account current tastes.

FOLAGA I N U M I D O

ingredients: coot cut into pieces celery, onion, a carot , red wine, oil chillie, bitter lives. procedure: put the coot in a pan cut up into pieces add to oil after lightly frying the celery, onion, carrot and the chillie then put in the wine and bitter olives.