To a large extent, peasant Tuscan cuisine is "naturally" vegetarian - a wide variety of cereals, pulses and dairy products means that it's easy to strike a good carbohydrate/protein balance without using textured vegetable protein and the like, while the local fresh fruit and vegetables are bursting with vitamins and minerals.
The dairy products we use on the course are almost all from a local biodynamic
farm, which uses a bacterial process to set its cheese (i.e. no animal
rennet). The eggs we use are from organic farms in the area, and are as
free-range as it gets!
On a typical vegetarian course, you would cook some of the following dishes. These would of course depend on the season: warming vegetable soups with cavolo nero and beans in the autumn, chilled pappa al pomodoro in the summer...
Day 1
Fresh egg tagliatelle with two sauces – zucchini flowers and ricotta,
basil pesto
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Refreshing Sicilian fennel and orange salad
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Tiramisù
Day 2
Crostini (canapés):
> melanzane (aubergine/eggplant with wild mint)
> peperoni e caprino (roasted peppers, herbs & goat's cheese)
> classic bruschetta (garlic, tomato, basil, olive oil)
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Fagioli all’uccelletto (white beans in a tomato and herb sauce)
Farro (a cereal similar to spelt) salad with tomatoes, mozzarella and basil
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Panna cotta with fruit coulis
Day 4
Sformati (light vegetable flans, with fennel and artichokes)
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Pappa al pomodoro (summery tomato and bread soup)
Light aubergine (eggplant) croquettes
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Crostata di fragole (custard and strawberry tart)
Day 6
Risotti (asparagus, radicchio)
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2 seasonal salads
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Ricotta Cheesecake
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vegetable lover's paradise With its great variety of fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as cereals that are little used elsewhere, Italian food affords a host of exquisite flavours for vegetarians. The traditional "peasant" food of Tuscany is no exception: nutty pulses,  tangy
vegetable sauces and imaginative salads all have an important part
to play at the table of the cooking course. Three of
the cooking courses we offer are entirely vegetarian.
We share the ever-growing concerns about pesticide residues
and GM foods. In the vast majority of cases, the ingredients
we use are organic or biodynamic. All are fresh and locally produced.
We take you to see the organic farms where the ingredients that
we cook with are grown, such as cereals, vegetables and olive
oil. We visit the vineyards where the biodynamic wine we drink
is produced.
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us in Italy +39 347 328 9333
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us from the UK 0208 144 9164
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us from the US 347 417 5907