Italian Culinary Adventure 2003 ~ Day Seven ~ The Chianti Road

View Of Countryside From Radda in Chianti, Italy

Our last full day in Tuscany began as yet another perfect day, with a clear blue sky set above lush green rolling hills seen in all directions from our windows. We were up early for our last morning walk through the fertile countryside, and enjoyed the softening effect the early morning sun had on the patchwork colored fields. Upon our return to the farmhouse we set up a nice breakfast of Tuscan cold cuts, cheeses, fruit, and bread on the large trestle table, opened up all the windows and ate a leisurely breakfast thoroughly enjoying the soft morning breeze. Our destination of choice was the Chianti region that day, an area between Siena and Florence that is dotted with small villages, and is famous for it's bold red wines and olive oil.

We set off that day, with no real itinerary in mind, but to simply head to the Strada Chiantigiana (Chianti Road), and to stop whenever we saw something we were interested in exploring. This road cuts directly through the center of Chianti, and winds through panoramic views of vineyards, olive groves, small towns, and even castles. Since we were coming up from the bottom, we came across Gaiole in Chianti first, and we decided to have a look around. (Seen in photo) Perhaps not the most picturesque of all the Chianti towns, Gaiole is still pretty to walk through with it's many flower adorned houses, and the stream that cuts through it's center. A market town since 1200, it gets a good deal of traffic from tourists during the season. It seemed fairly quiet the day we were there however, and we stopped off for our morning cappuccino, and browsed through some of the shops that line the main piazza. We soon realized that Badia a Colibuono, Lorenza de'Medici's abbey and restaurant was close by, so we called ahead to book reservations for later on for lunch. After spending an hour or so wandering through Gaiole, we then headed up to Radda in Chianti, another very pretty Chianti town which sits up on a hill between Val di Pesa and Val d'Arba. Radda was a little busier than Gaiole had been, and we explored the town, checking out a few of the olive oil factory stores, and artisan shops that line some of the main streets. There is a 14th century walkway that circles part of the city, and an impressive Palazzo del Podesta, or city hall in Piazza Ferrucci. The view from Radda across the countryside was awesome, and we spent time taking photographs of the landscape dotted with picturesque farmhouses and wine estates before climbing back into our van to head over to Badia a Coltibuono for lunch.

Lorenza de'Medici's family has owned the abbey for more than a century, and it still produces fine wine and olive oil as well as various other products. Lorenza herself has published over 30 cookbooks, and the famed chef offers 5 day cooking classes at the Abbey every spring and fall. The Abbey is set high up on a hill, and after driving up to Coltibuono we parked and walked through the grounds (Seen in photo), with a quick visit to the small Romanesque church, before heading over to the restaurant for lunch. The restaurant is set beyond a beautiful flowered courtyard, and we were seated on the outdoor patio under a large awning with an impressive view of the rolling hills of Chianti in front of us. We ordered a bottle of the estate's own wine, and tried to decide what to order from the impressive menu. Within 30 minutes of being seated, a storm quickly rolled in across the sky bringing with it heavy rain, lightening and thunder. Soon the rain turned to hail, and we sat under the tented roof of fabric wondering if we should move indoors for safety, but enjoying the impressive show that nature was bestowing upon us. We went ahead and ordered our lunch, and since our waiter felt we were safe enough decided to see if we could wait out the storm where we were. Our first course dishes included;

Tagliata With Pecorino And Zucchini - Fresh pasta topped with a creamy, almost Alfredo type sauce made with Pecorino cheese and topped with grilled, thin slices of zucchini.
Picci With Ragu Sauce - Traditional pasta of Tuscany made of flour and water topped with a bold meat sauce.
Risotto With Baby Squid - A pale pink, creamy risotto dish topped with baby squid. I found the rice very "al dente", but the flavor was really nice.
Millefoglie of Eggplant - This dish was an interesting composition of thinly sliced grilled bread slices alternating with buffalo mozzarella and eggplant.
Malfatti With Asparagus Sauce - This dish was spinach dumplings, or gnocchi, topped with a subtle asparagus and tomato sauce. Very unique vibrant flavor.

The storm was finally winding down as our second courses arrived, including;

Roasted Rabbit - Very tender, moist and seasoned with fresh rosemary.
Baccala - This was a rather interesting dish, consisting of lightly battered and fried pieces of rehydrated salted cod which were served on a bed of sautéed spinach and topped with roasted tomatoes. This is a dish I would like to try to duplicate at home!
Galleto - This chicken dish was crisp on the outside, yet tender and moist inside.
Roasted Pork - This is the only one dish that was not enjoyed this meal. The pork was quite chewy, and still had a good deal of fat on it.

Since this was our last restaurant meal together in Italy before we headed off in different directions the next day, we decided to splurge and order desserts from the impressive list on Coltibuono's menu. My husband and I preferred cheese to dessert, so we ordered a small tray of mixed local cheeses served with honey, and prune marmalade. We each had a nice glass of Chianti wine with our cheese course, and thoroughly enjoyed our choice. Other desserts ordered included a dense pear and chocolate cake, a ricotta cheesecake topped with Vin Santo soaked plums, and hazelnut gelato topped with a sauce made with Vin Santo. By the time we had finished our meal, the storm had rolled off to the west, and the skies were clearing. Hating to end our last day just yet, we decided to drive to one more Chianti town, Castellina in Chianti before heading back to Asciano.

Castellina is also set up high, with an impressive view across the Tuscan landscape. The city has 15th century medieval walls which hint at the fact that this town was an important outpost during the continuing wars between Siena and Florence. After parking, we walked through the town, once again browsing through the shops and enjoying the quiet of the all but deserted town. It was soon time for us to leave, and we drove the winding road back to our farmhouse to spend our last night before we left Tuscany the following day. The week had been a full one, and our daily excursions had been enjoyed by all, but unfortunately our time in Tuscany had come to an end.

Badia a Coltibuono
Phone - 0577/749498
Wine Tastings, Cooking Classes Both One Day And Week Long Available
Overal Impressions: If you are touring the area, the meal was well worth the visit. There is also a shop onsite called L'Osteria that sells Coltibuono's wine and other products.

Continue to view more photos of Chianti.

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Buon Appetito!
Deborah Mele 2003
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