Christmas Menu from Tuscany

The Christmas Day lunch menu here in Tuscany is extremely rich in flavor but not expensive as simple, seasonal ingredients are used.

Amongst starters and cold cuts you will surely have the most authentic tuscan starter – Crostini Toscani

Next tradition has it, fresh egg pasta is made and filled either with spinach and ricotta or the more classic potato filling.  The sauce must be rich – a simple meat ragu will be just fine but to give a certain prestige to their tables tuscans love to use game – I chose a dark chunky hare sauce: Tortelli Mugellani alla Lepre.

And what about the main course? Florentine Arista – Roast Pork Shine!

Ingredients

• 3 pound lean pork loin, with its bones
• 3 cloves garlic
• salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup of extra-virgin olive oil

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Bone the pork (or ask your butcher to do this for you, as long as you ask him to keep the bones) .  Peel the garlic cloves, and cut them into halves. Make little incisions in six places in the meat (use a knife) and season well with abundant salt and pepper  and tie up with kitchen string. Put the meat into a baking pan with some olive oil… also if you like add some rosemary and sage, this will give extra flavor to the sauce that will form around the roast. Place in the oven and cook for about 1 1/2 hours.

End your meal with a sweet having a recipe that’s 1000 years old – panpepato!