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Edible Tuscany- Certaldo

August 26, 2012 by Divina Cucina

I am truly blessed.

I live on a tiny hill in the middle of an olive orchard ( ok next to a creepy neighbor building the largest pizza oven of life which is becoming my new “view) in the heart of Tuscany.

I don’t live in a huge house, but rather 1/3 of a old family home divided. I have the middle section, just a small one bedroom with a tiny tiny kitchen and a small yard with a little vegetable garden… and a patio. Simple life.

My village is incredible. The old hill town is one of the best to visit in Tuscany and is without a lot of shops. It is a photographer’s dream. The entire town is made of the traditional red brick.

Certaldo was home to Boccaccio, the author of the Decameron. They hold several fun festivals during the year, but the village itself is worth the visit.

Yesterday I friend came up and we had just a few short hours for a visit, so i suggested a small fairly new trattoria in town.

A Casa Tua, means at your house. It is a small converted apartment on the main road in the old town.
It is owned by a young couple from Naples, but they serve Tuscan food but with a couple of their own touches.

It is located in an old apartment and has a fun collection of different tables and chairs, like at Grandma’s house.

The food is simple.

We had a summer panzanella, farro salad and their house pasta, with garlic, olive oil, chili and tomatoes with crispy bacon added on top. It was served in the pan it was cooked in– very cute and very good.


We started the meal off with their signature coccoli, fried dough, but I must say, they were the lightest I have ever had, I think she is using her secret Naples recipe for these!!


We shared a dish of their fried specialties and fried chicken. There were fried vegetables, but also some fried specialties from Naples, potato croquettes, a rice ball, fried mozzarella as well as some other surprises.


This was a small bite-size Suppli, the naples version of an arancina, the fried risotto balls.

I of course had to have dessert.

Her Tiramisu was lovely– totally different from the classic and adored the presentation.

 


The walls are all signed by happy clients.

tell them Diva sent you!!!

A Casa Tua
Via Boccaccio,24

Certaldo Alto

This is one of the places featured in my Taste Chianti APP.  get a copy to help plan your trip.

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Filed Under: Food and Wine, Trattoria, Travel, Tuscany Tagged With: dining out, trattoria

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Comments

  1. Jamie says

    August 26, 2012 at 4:15 pm

    Beautiful! I want to visit! I so love food in Italy (I don’t want to say Italian food), always so simple yet so flavorful and exciting. And restaurants like this one are the best. The food looks amazing! Okay, I must come and visit!

  2. Fran says

    August 26, 2012 at 4:19 pm

    Sounds lovely AND delicious! Your words make it very comfortable-sounding and welcoming.

  3. Sandi @the WhistleStop Cafe says

    August 26, 2012 at 6:11 pm

    High words of praise from The Diva!

  4. AdriBarr says

    August 27, 2012 at 12:32 am

    Judy, your town is absolutely lovely. And the restaurant sounds great. Thanks for the tour.

  5. John Santos says

    August 27, 2012 at 2:05 am

    What’s the soy sauce-like sauce that came with the fried basket? Looks almost Japanese!

  6. judy witts says

    August 27, 2012 at 5:17 am

    @john santos she made a little spicy dipping sauce– not traditional here! ( PS there was a little side of mayo and mustard)

  7. laura freeman says

    August 27, 2012 at 6:16 am

    oh, Judy …. looks so nice and so good. The jewelry of living in Italy!

  8. ourkitcheninventions says

    August 27, 2012 at 4:25 pm

    I am jealously dreaming of the food you had for lunch!! We are having friends over this weekend, and making the Roast Pork recipe from your cookbook…can’t wait to try it!….think of us on Friday night and know we are pretending to be Italian in Atlanta, GA… LOL!

    • judy witts says

      August 27, 2012 at 4:26 pm

      that’s fabulous—-what is the rest of the menu???

  9. Anonymous says

    August 28, 2012 at 4:04 am

    Beautiful photos and beautiful food.

  10. Simon David says

    August 28, 2012 at 10:51 am

    Italians each meal is a truly feast, something to share with family and friends, and more over simply ingredients they cook such a beautiful food.
    I have just found one blog with Tuscan food.
    toscanarestaurants.blogspot.in/2012/08/all-about-tuscan-food.html
    Toscana – Italian Restaurant & Pizzeria

  11. Frank Fariello says

    August 28, 2012 at 12:28 pm

    A beautiful town, a beautiful couple and some delicious food! You are indeed very lucky.

  12. Anne and Kirk says

    August 29, 2012 at 4:36 pm

    We have such wonderful memories of visiting Certaldo Alto when we were introducing my husband’s mother to Tuscany a decade or more ago – before this adorable Trattoria. We didn’t know you then, Judy, so weren’t aware that it was “your town” – a great place to live, for sure!

  13. 11james says

    August 29, 2012 at 5:30 pm

    I own a small Italian restaurant in south Florida and I’m always looking for way to make our menu that much better. This blog post has given me some fantastic ideas. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2y3mv8F2miw Thanks for your help and keep on writing.

Judy Witts Francini

Originally from California; Tuscany has been my home since 1984. I found the city of Florence to hold all my passions, food, wine, art all in one place. When I am not in Tuscany, I am often found in Sicily, my other favorite place to be. Always searching for recipes to share and exploring for the guides I write to my favorite cities for food and wine.

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