The best thing about any small group tour of Italy is the ability to explore as much as you like in each region. We are passionate about tailoring your holiday to your needs. If you love food, we can help you find great restaurants and delicious traditional dishes to enjoy.
Tuscany is a great place to learn how to cook and explore food. These are some regional dishes you might like to try, along with the world-famous wines and cheeses of Tuscany.
Ribollita: Vegetable and Bread Soup
This dish is easy to prepare and delicious. Even beginners can master it in no time. The best part is that you can easily recreate this dish at home. You will find the ingredients in every decent-sized supermarket. A loaf of white bread, cannellini bean, garlic, onions and carrots, as well as a few other fibrous, earthy vegetables, are all you need. Finding good-quality extra virgin oil to give this dish its Mediterranean flavour will be the most challenging part. Ribollita is a hearty and healthy choice for your next dinner party.
Pappa al Pomodoro: Tomato-, Bread-, and Garlic Soup
Another delicious, comforting soup that you can take home. This soup is a popular choice throughout Italy, in Tuscany and all over Italy. This soup can be served hot or cold and can also be prepared at room temperature. Do not be afraid to serve tomato soup as a starter. The bread makes it a substantial first course. Basil, garlic and olive oil make this dish stand out from other blander versions.
Wine and Cheese are perfect accompaniments.
It is impossible to complete a Tuscan meal without home-grown wine or Cheese. If you’re dining out, I recommend the vino Dilla casa. It is a robust red wine that pairs well with Tuscan cuisines like stews, meats, soups, and casseroles. Montalcino is a rich, dense red wine that is well-known all over the world. Montepulciano is a lighter, more complex, but equally delicious red.
Cheese lovers will feel at home in Tuscany, where they can enjoy a variety of cheeses made using ancient production techniques. Our small group tours of Italy encourage members to try the cheeses, and we can arrange visits to local dairies for those interested. You will want to take home a piece of everything, from pecorino to raviggiolo to ricotta to ricotta.
The below recommended tours of Italy offer the opportunity to learn how to prepare authentic Tuscan dishes. This is one of our most rewarding experiences. There’s no better way to discover the region’s culinary highlights than by learning how to cook!