I am sure I have absolutely nothing new to say about Florence. What could there possibly be that has not already been said? Yet, even knowing that, I have a lot to say, and there will be many things that I leave out (to be used in another post someday, hopefully).
Florence was the last place I traveled pre-pandemic. We went with a single goal in mind – to enjoy a city we know and love, without worrying too much about hitting all the tourist spots. Don’t worry, we went and saw the David and Primavera, but we probably wouldn’t have if there had been crowds. Note to self and anyone else who cares: January is an amazing time to go to the tourist hot spots of Italy.
So, what did we do, you ask, if we were not standing in line for hours just trying to get into museums? We walked, a lot, and we ate, a lot, and we sat in restaurants, in bars, in parks, and on rooftops simply enjoying life. Oh, and we shopped. I am a big fan of the classics, so one necessary stop is the Madova gloves store, just over the Ponte Vecchio in the Oltrarno. The store has been there since 1919. The gloves are exquisite, and they last forever if you take care of them. I still have a pair I bought there in 2003.
There were several standout bars this trip, including Locale (http://www.localefirenze.it/bar/), where each cocktail is an insane concoction named after an Italian hand gesture.
And there is, of course, the food. We had lunch at Trattoria Angiolino (https://www.casatrattoria.com/ristorante-trattoria-angiolino/) on the first day and tried the tortelloni with wild boar ragu. The picture below is the Trattoria Angiolino dish – enormous tortelloni filled with a potato filling and topped with the boar ragu. Our wine with that lunch was a simple rosso di Montalcino. If you are asking yourself how I remember – I still keep a notebook when I travel, but now I tape in business cards so I don’t forget where I’ve had amazing meals.
I have looked through every one of my pasta cookbooks, and I could not find a single potato filling, so the recipe below is my best effort to recreate potato tortelloni, a year after having them. The verdict was “very good,” but not perfect. There will be follow up on this one.
Potato Tortelloni with Meat Sauce
Course: DinnerIngredients
3 medium sized Yukon Gold potatoes
3/4 cup fresh grated parmigiano reggiano
about 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil – preferably Tuscan
salt and pepper
1 recipe fresh egg pasta dough
Basic meat sauce (see post), or meat sauce of your choice
Directions
- Boil potatoes in salted water until tender. Drain. Rice potatoes into a medium bowl.
- Add cheese, olive oil (until the filling soft, but not too wet), salt and pepper to the potato. Mix well. Set aside.
- Cut large (3.5 inch) circles of fresh pasta (cover the ones you aren’t working with so that they don’t dry out). Place rounded tablespoon of filling in middle. Wet edges. Fold into a half moon. Press out any air and press closed to seal. Pull tips together in shape of tortelloni. Continue with remaining dough and filling. Put on floured baking sheet until you are ready or them.
- Bring large pot of salted water to boil. Gently place tortelloni into water. Cook until
- Drain tortelloni. Serve with meat sauce (see recipe for basic meat sauce, or use your favorite).
Open a bottle of Tuscan wine – a Rosso di Montalcino would be a good choice here – and enjoy.
yummmmm