Taste Chianti | Divine Daytrips- Giotto

Now that we can drive around and move more freely, Andrea and I have been taking some daytrips. It’s great to visit some of our favorite spots, but also pure joy in discovering new places.

Years ago, I created the Taste Chianti app to share my tips on where to eat, drink, shop and stay in Chianti.

Chianti is a wine producing region, I took liberties and chose favorite places between Florence and Siena. This started as an online dining guide on my website. It seemed more practical now to have it available on your phone as an app.

 

With Covid, I have started to see places close and not reopen. At the same time, am discovering more places I can add. It’s impossible to have all the wonderful places on my app. I paid to create the app and pay to update it as well. I use it as a “gift” and aid for my trip planning service which is one of the services I offer.

When I am doing trip planning, I share people and places that make me happy. I find that the places you love the most are because there was someone special involved in your day. I am starting a new little project as well, which will be based on my app. Picking a town, an artisan and combining a local recipe.  Here is an example of a daytrip and planned snacks or meals. Often we try to drive while others are sitting down for a real 3 hour lunch, so we head for a lighter snack, called a merenda. There are several places that specialize in just that, so you don’t always have to sit down to a long heavy meal.

 

On our daytrip to Florence from where we live in the countryside,  we took small back roads to reach a special “alimentari” a small food shop, which surprisingly is NOT open at lunch time.

 

TASTE: We ordered their special Tuscan Flat bread called Schiacciata. You can pick what size of sandwich. It is cooked in a rectangular pan so you can get 1/2, 1/4 or 1/8th of a pan…. panino.

 

With Covid, you enter one client at a time and we ordered a classic, mortadella. Schiacciata con la Mortadella.They say that mortadella is a “matrimoni perfetto”, a perfect marriage. There is nothing like freshly sliced mortadella. In Rome, you would order Pizza Bianca con Mortazza.

They have a large choice of sliced meats and cheeses you can create your own combo.Our local cheese is a sheep’s milk cheese called Pecorino. They will ask if you want it fresco o stagionato, young or aged.

I often get a Tusscan classic, raw sausage and stracchino cheese ( salsiccia e stracchino), something I an ex vegetarian, learned to love in Tuscany.

The schiacciata is made all day long here so is always fresh and often HOT.

They have tables and chairs across the street to be able to sit and enjoy your panino in the shade.

 

I will be making a schiacchiata bread video and posting it soon on my Patreon page. The recipe is in my book, Secrets From My Tuscan Kitchen.

You start with a simple Tuscan bread recipe and then roll it out flat and schiacciarla.. with your fingers… SQUISH down. Then apply olive oil, sea salt and bake at a high temperature like a pizza.

I like eating in in small strips just as bread. It costs much more than bread, But Tuscan bread is unsalted and this is eaten more as a treat.

 

SEE:

If you are coming from Florence, this is just past the La Certosa del Galluzzo, another great place to visit.

 

 

SCHIACCIATA DI CHIESANUOVA (da Giotto)

via volterrana in cerbaia 273
Chiesanuova, Italy 50026

9- 1:00 and  4:30 -8

Closed Wednesday