Maremman Cuisine

If you are a gourmet, Tuscany is the right place to experience one of the best cuisines in the world. The charm of the Maremman culinary tradition is given by its simplicity.No heavy sauces needed for hiding the food because locals use the freshest ingredients with strong flavors, aromatic herbs and spices. The main ingredients of Maremman cooking such as olive oil, meat and above all pasta, produce unrivalled dishes that you will be able to taste in the many restaurants of Massa Marittima.

The very best dishes are surprisingly basic but still a temptation to the taste buds.A symbol of the cuisine and gastronomy of the area is the wild boar or 'cinghiale'.It is always dipped in fine Maremma wine before being cooked on the spit.Wild boar is freshest in autumn, during the hunting season.Expect to eat it with a generous selection of mushrooms, artichokes and ricotta Tortelli Maremmani (tortelli stuffed with spinach and ricotta cheese), acquacotta (thick vegetable soup with egg) and pappardelle alla lepre (pasta with wild hare) are some of the typical first courses; cinghiale con le olive (wild boar with olives) and lumache in umido (snail stew) are some of the typical second courses.Fresh or mature pecorino (sheep's milk cheese) and rovaggiolo (cream cheese) are really excellent.

The most delicious items are the pork and wild boar sausages, Tuscan prosciutto (very tasty), buristo (black pudding) and finocchiona (salami with fennel seeds). On the sweet side, worth a mention is the panforte (a kind of spicy cake/biscuit with dried fruit).In the autumn the specialties are sweet chestnuts, wild mushrooms, bruschetta (toasted bread rubbed with garlic) prepared with fresh extra virgin olive oil.You can taste everything drinking a good glass of red or white wine, but always - Monteregio di Massa Marittima – DOC local wine.