Food of Florence
Italy is famous for its cuisine and Florence is no different. You can expect to experience wonderful dishes all over the city.
Florence's Food Culture
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The typical diet for an Italian consists of three meals a day. The most common foods include pasta, cheese, vegetables, olive oil, meat, and wine.
Florentine food is known for being earthy and simple, with many nods to its medieval origins and a refusal to let anything go to waste.
Italian breakfasts are sweet and small. They usually involve a quick shot of energy with an espresso accompanied by biscuits, cakes, pastries, and bread. In Italy, cappuccinos are usually only drunk at breakfast.
In Florence, most restaurants open from 12:30 to 2 pm. Lunch in Italy usually consists of a few courses and is the largest meal of the day. Italians will typically eat pasta, gnocchi, meat, and vegetables. We recommend Tuscan Ragú or Tuscan Florentine Soup.
Generally, Italians and Florentines will not start dinner until 8 pm. Tuscany has a range of famous dishes to try at dinner time e.g., Florentine Beefsteak, Pasta Noodle with Porcini and Truffles, and of course, gelato.
Florentines don’t particularly have a sweet tooth. There are many “desserts” consisting of savoury bread dusted with icing sugar such as schiacciata alla fiorentina. However, Florentines claim they invented gelato in the late 1500s, so ice-cream is taken pretty seriously in Florence.
Italy
The typical diet for an Italian consists of three meals a day. The most common foods include pasta, cheese, vegetables, olive oil, meat, and wine.
Florence
Florentine food is known for being earthy and simple, with many nods to its medieval origins and a refusal to let anything go to waste.
Breakfast
Italian breakfasts are sweet and small. They usually involve a quick shot of energy with an espresso accompanied by biscuits, cakes, pastries, and bread. In Italy, cappuccinos are usually only drunk at breakfast.
Lunch
In Florence, most restaurants open from 12:30 to 2 pm. Lunch in Italy usually consists of a few courses and is the largest meal of the day. Italians will typically eat pasta, gnocchi, meat, and vegetables. We recommend Tuscan Ragú or Tuscan Florentine Soup.
Dinner
Generally, Italians and Florentines will not start dinner until 8pm. Tuscany has a range of famous dishes to try at dinner time. e.g., Florentine Beefsteak, Pasta Noodle with Porcine and Truffles, and of course, their world-famous gelato.
Dessert
Florentines don’t particularly have a sweet tooth. There are many “desserts” consisting of savoury bread dusted with icing sugar such as schiacciata alla fiorentina. However, Florentines claim they invented gelato in the late 1500s, so ice-cream is taken pretty seriously in Florence.
Popular Food
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Schiacciata
Gelato
Chianti
Recipes
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(Grape Focaccia)
Ingredients
- Extra Virgin Oil, 10 tbs
- Fresh Rosemary, 2 tbs finely minced
- Yeast, 1 packet
- All-purpose flour, 2 Cups
- Granulated Sugar, 11 tbs
- Salt
- Black Seedless Grapes, 3 pounds
- Anise Seeds, 2 tsp
Method
- In a saucepan, heat 4 tbs of oil and rosemary until warm.
- Sprinkle yeast in 1/2 of warm water and leave it aside for 2 mins. Sift the flour in a bowl and add the yeast water, rosemary oil, 3 tbs of sugar and salt and knead into the flour. Leave it to rise for approx. 1 hour.
- Pour tbs of oil into a baking tray.
- Add the grapes into a bowl and mash with a fork.
- Add half the risen dough to the baking tray and brush with olive oil. Top the dough with 1/2 of the grapes and sprinkle with 4 tbs of sugar and anise seeds.
- Roll our the remaining dough and place it over the grape layer. Spread the remaining oil, grapes, sugar and anise seeds over the top.
- Let it all rest for 20 mins before added to a preheated oven at 180 degrees for 1 hour. Bread should be golden brown.
(Beans in Tomato Sauce)
Ingredients
- 500g dried cannellini beans
- 250g tomato sauce
- 1 garlic clove
- 5-6 sage leaves
- 3 tbs olive oil
- salt
- pepper
Method
- Soak the beans overnight in cold water to rehydrate them. The next day, drain the water and rinse the beans a few times. Finely chop garlic and fry until golden brown. Add the sage, beans and strained tomatoes, and season with salt and pepper. If you like you can add some red wine while frying the garlic to add extra flavour.
- Place the lid on the pot and allow the beans to gently cook for up to 2 hours.
(Mushroom Florentine Pasta)
Ingredients
- Linguine pasta for 4 people
- 3 tbs all-purpose flour
- 250 ml of vegetable stock
- 250 ml of milk or non-dairy alternative
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 4 tbs olive oil
- 250g mushrooms
- 2 garlic cloves
- Large handful of spinach
Method
- Put down the pasta.
- Whisk the flour, stock, milk, salt and pepper, then set aside.
- In a large pan heat olive oil and add sliced mushrooms. Heat for 6 mins on a medium heat, then add the garlic and sauté for 2 more mins.
- Add the flour mixture to the mushrooms and simmer until the sauce thickens.
- Optionally add cheese and spinach.
- Drain the pasta and mix in your mushroom sauce.
Where to Eat
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