Val d’Orcia’s local specialties you should taste

Val d’Orcia is among the most suggestive areas of Tuscany. From a geographical point of view, this area includes that portion of land that surrounds the northern and the eastern part of Monte Amiata, bordering with Umbria.

The most popular towns of Val d’Orcia are Pienza, Montalcino, Castiglione d’Orcia, San Quirico d’Orcia and Radiocofani. Val d’Orcia is an area with touristic and cultural appeal and is really outstanding. It’s no accident that Val d’Orcia was declared by Unesco World Heritage Site, beside being a Nature Reserve.

Its climate, its geomorphology, its flora and its fauna create a unique landscape whose characteristics reflect on the local gastronomy as well. In fact, Tuscany is a triumph of fragrances coming from its different areas: Val di Chiana, Val d’Arno, Val d’Elsa, and so on. Let’s have a look at the local specialties of Val d’Orcia that you should taste.

Bread Soup

Soups are among the most genuine recipes of Tuscan gastronomy. No matter what the specific recipe is: any soup is rich, nourishing and comforting enough to gather any family in the kitchen at the end of the day, today as well as in the past. Soups are the best expression of the local tradition of any place, here are part of the so called “poor cuisine”.

A couple of vegetables picked up in the garden and some leftovers, and voilà, the result is a great savory and special dish, perfect to delight your palate! In Val d’Orcia, a classic soup is bread soup, made up of stale bread, some beans and a few other ingredients. A cookery lesson to learn and take home with you!

Pici with breadcrumbs

If you are traveling around Tuscany maybe you have already had the chance to taste Pici all’aglione, a Tuscan handmade pasta served with a unique garlic sauce. In Val d’Orcia pici pasta is served with a sauce of anchovies, hot pepper, extra virgin olive oil (Tuscan olive oil, of course), garlic and, on top, a generous sprinkle of breadcrumbs.

As you will notice, the main ingredients are very cheap, but the result is exquisite!

Val d’Orcia’s snails

Snails are a typical dish of San Quirico, a small town in Val d’Orcia. This town is renowned for snails, in fact its inhabitants are called “chiocciolai”.

The recipe is quite simple, but you will barely find it in any local cookery book: it’s a word-of-mouth tradition. The secret of Val d’Orcia’s snails recipe involves a series of precise step-by-steps that cannot be missed out. And what about the ingredients? Beside snails, this exquisite dish includes mortadella (typical Italian cured meat), red wine, condensed tomato sauce and others. Enjoy!

Credits preview photo: cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2018/08/03/22/46/val-dorcia-3582885_960_720.jpg