A Gastronomic Tour of Tuscany and Umbria

Our view of the countryside outside Lucignano

Our little corner of Tuscany near Lucignano had many perfectly distanced options for morning jaunts with small children, ensuring sightseeing and meandering lunches at authentic local trattorias for the adults and gelato and short car journeys guaranteeing a timely return for nap time for the children.

Local restaurant in Montepulciano

Eager children making their gelato selections

Chocolate gelato

Having congratulated ourselves on a nice morning out, we would celebrate by lazing at the pool all afternoon playing with the children.

View of the pool from my room

Umbria

One of the children’s favourite places we visited was Trasimeno lake in Umbria as we took the ferry to Isola Maggiore and bird spotted along the way.

Isola maggiore

We had a fabulous lunch at Trattoria del Pescatore in Passignano with very good local dishes and an inviting and animated proud host. My two year-old ate an entire plate of fettuccine with porcini mushrooms while the rest of us gorged ourselves on black truffle pasta. The fish dishes, some grilled, stuffed and baked, or cooked in sauce, were uniformly excellent made from various fish from the lake like carp, coregone (European whitefish), and perch. We drank local white wine made from Grechetto while the children were treated to gelato.

Pici pasta with black truffles/Pici al tartufo nero

Grilled European whitefish/Coregone alla griglia

Ask around bars and restaurants to find a local truffle hunter to sell you black summer truffles

Another day along Trasimeno lake, we walked around the charming town of Castiglione sul Lago and later drove down to the water’s edge to have a coffee and watch the kite surfers. Orvieto was a charming town with a beautiful duomo.

Wild boar head outside a shop, indicating they sell salami

Cheese and prosciutto bread rings

Deruta ceramics from Umbria, a great souvenir

Tuscany

We were initially harried when we arrived in Arezzo, straining to push our double pram uphill over cobblestone streets, but were rewarded by a charming piazza, quaint antique shops, and an authentic Tuscan enoteca, La Torre di Gnicche, with an excellent wine selection.

Piagga San Martino, Arezzo

Antipasto toscano/Tuscan mixed starter of cold cuts, preserved vegetables, and toast with different spreads

Antipasto toscano/Tuscan mixed starter of cold cuts, preserved vegetables, and bread with different spreads

Homemade grappa

Bring home pan pepato (nut and fruit cake) from Siena

Our visit to Montepulciano in Tuscany was everybody’s favourite day out. In all directions one looked, Montepulciano presented a postcard-like view. It was as though someone ensured that every little corner from every angle would be pleasing to the eye. The people were generous and friendly as well, which was remarkable for a town so frequented by tourists. We found a great shop where the family has been making copper kitchen ware for generations.

Walkway to a vista point in Montepulciano

Pastry shop window

Peaches and plums at a fruit stand in Montepulciano

Great shop for copper cookware:

Bottega di Rame

Via dell’Opio nel Corso, 64

53045 Montepulciano (SI), Tuscany

Tel: +39 0578 758 753
[email protected]
www.rameria.com

They craft almost any kitchen ware you can imagine in copper and ship internationally. See their website for a list of products.

Copperware

Best for local products/ best Chianina steak:

Conte Matto

Via Taverne, 40

Trequanda, Tuscany

+39 0577 662 079

Hands down this restaurant had the best Chianina steak we tasted on this trip. Our host explained to us that the most important factor was knowing which producers to buy meat from – where they grazed their animals and for how long and how the meat was treated. It’s clear this restaurant has its procurement practices right when you taste their simply prepared food. Starter of three different prosciuttos, crostini neri (bread with calf’s spleen), bistecca (steak), Good wine list.

Prize for the most engaging host:

Hosteria la Vecchia Rota

Via 20 Settembre, 4
Marciano della Chiana, Tuscany

+390575845362

+393355912812

Also wins the award for most embodying the concept of the Slow Food movement and most amazing setting. We arrived in the evening, the lone table of diners in the centre of the piazza. The excellent food is served by your host who begins with a lively explanation of each dish with how his grandmother would prepare this dish or about the ingredients which he grows himself. Dinner finishes with an invitation to try the local Nocino (walnut liqueur) or homemade grappa. Goose and pasta with pecorino cheese, chilli, and pears are the house specialties.

Da Forcillo

Viale Gramsci,7

53048 Sinalunga, Tuscany

+39 0577 630102

www.forcillo.it

[email protected]

Fabio is an inviting and generous host attentively ensuring his guests are happy. He starts with fett unta (grilled bread drizzled with olive oil) and gnocco (fried bread) with prosciutto for every table and ends with vin santo (local sweet wine) and cantuccini (crunchy almond biscuits). Fabio himself and the steak are the main events. His style of hosting, greeting us as though we are long lost friends is seemingly more rare nowadays, but is one of the reasons I love dining out in Italy. Chianina beef needs to be pre-ordered.

Steak, gnocco con prosciutto, pici con ragu (thick spaghetti with meat sauce), pici tartufato (thick spaghetti with black truffle), good and interesting wine list

Trattoria del Pescatore

Via San Bernadino,5

06065 Passignano sul Trasimeno, Umbria

Tel. +39 0758296063

[email protected]

Our host (a former London DJ who had returned to run his family’s restaurant) was careful to explain each dish to us, with evident pride in the restaurant his grandmother started. This dedication to quality shows in the food.

Fettuccine con funghi porcini (fettucine with porcini mushroms), pasta con tartufo nero (black truffle pasta), coregone (European whitefish), and pernice (perch) are house specialties.

Award for most authentic local trattoria:

La Torre di Gnicche

Piaggia San Martino, 8

Arezzo, Tuscany

Tel: +39 0575 352035

This tiny enoteca with a wine shop in the nearby piazza offers an authentic Tuscan gastronomic experience just a stone’s throw from the tourist track. the service is informal and friendly with solid wine knowledge. Crostini (bread with various toppings), bruschette (grilled bread with various toppings), pappa al pomodoro (thick soup of bread and tomatoes), zuppa di farro (emmer wheat soup), arista (roast pork), and tripe are the house specialties. Try the pecorino di fossa. Great wine selection.

A Gastronomic Tour of Tuscany and Umbria

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