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• Pastry
• Bread
• Pancotto (tuscan bread soup)

Tuscany keeps things quite medieval with this traditional pancotto. Stale bread is cooked in a broth made with a classic trilogy of chopped carrot, celery, and onion. Chile and Pecorino Romano cheese add flavor, fresh herbs (typically nepitella, or calamint) add color. But it remains a simple, comforting dish -- not much different from its peasant origins -- that warms up and fills bellies on cold nights. <br /> <br />A dish like this will have a different recipe in every household. Pare back for more simplicity, add a few extras for more oomph: You can use beef or vegetable stock instead of water (or you may like to use half and half), more garlic, or perhaps add chopped pancetta with the soffritto of carrot, celery, and onion. The important thing is the bread. It should be a delicious, white, quite dense country loaf with a good, crunchy crust -- and it should be a couple days old. It doesn't have to be dry as a bone, but it shouldn't be too fresh and springy. If you do have fresh bread and you'd still like to make this recipe, slice in into thick slices and dry it out slightly in a very low temperature oven; try not to toast it, as this will affect the taste.

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