Family estates in tuscany

» Mese 02-2007

GNOCCHI WITH PESTO D’ORTICA (Gnocchi with stinging Nettle pesto)

* 150g Fresh, boiled nettle leaves (to make Pesto d’ortica)
* 600g Potatoes
* 4 Sun-dried tomatoes
* 50g pistachio nuts
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 200g Wholemeal flour
* 1 teaspoon of sea salt.

Boil potatoes, cut into pieces and pass them through a vegetable filter. Paste in the flour until well mixed, then separate the mixture into thumb-size lumps, or “gnocchi”, cover them in sieved flour and leave them to sit for an hour or so.

In the meantime blend the tomatoes with the cooked nettle leaves, pistachio’s and oil until creamy.

Drop the gnocchi into boiling, salted water and when they rise to the surface they are cooked.

Add the mixture to the gnocchi, decorate with a few pistachio nuts and enjoy with any red wine that you can find in the house…

The next time you are stung by this terror in the garden remember that revenge can be sweet, and can be sought by transforming it into a number of delicious and nutritious dishes – a just revenge I feel…!

# 14/02/2007 in my recipies, what's on in Maremma - 0 comments)

porcellain museum

Since 1973, the Porcelain Museum, which is a section of the Silver Museum, is located in the “Casino del Cavaliere”, built in the 17th century at the top of the hill that DownlooLs the Gardens of Boboli, which was chosen as a retreat for the Grand DuKe.
The homogeneous collections comprises mainly porcelain tableware belonging to the royal families that ruled Tuscany (Medici, Lorraine, Savoy), thus clearly reflecting their tastes.

The collection is divided by periods, nations and manufacturers. There are several outstanding examples of Italian porcelain objects produced in Doccia (near Florence), which were especially used by the Grand ducal family for large services of daily use, and at the Royal Manufactory of Naples.
Foreign objeots include fine table sets from Vienna and from the German Manufactory of Meissen, in addition to French porcelain from Vincennes and Sèvres, brought to the Pitti Palace by the Savoy House from the royal palace of Parma. The Grand Duchess of Parma, Luisa Elisabetta, was in fact the daughter of Luis XV. Some of the objects are also gifts from Napoleon to his sister Elisa Baciocchi, Grand Duchess of Tuscany from 1809 to 1814.
The oldest pieces of the collections are those that once belonged to Gian Gastone, the last Medici Grand Duke (1671-1737) produced in the Manufactory of Meissen.

# 14/02/2007 in what's on in florence - 0 comments)

Villa delle Corti

With its splendid setting and stately architecture, Villa Le Corti is one of Tuscany’s finest examples of a Renaissance residence.
The first fifteenth century Florentine land registry records that the Corsini family have owned the Villa since 1427.
At that time the building consisted of a simple fortified tower facing north-west, which was part of a fortification line built in the Pesa Valley to defend Florence.
In the early seventeenth century it was converted into the present-day building, on a design attributed to the painter and architect Santi di Tito.

read more at villa delle Corti

# 12/02/2007 in what's on in Chianti - 0 comments)

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