The Joys of Northern Tuscany

Our Italian Cuisine guide Kyle Phillips has just released step-by-step instructions for making panigacci and/or Focaccette. Panigacci is a traditional dish of the Lunigiana, and you can find it in two towns near my vacation house, Aulla and Podenzana. It is a Sunday tradition for us to go to out for a big basket of panigacci with all the toppings (cheese, pesto, prosciutto, pancetta), then, for us meat eaters, maybe a big hunk of steak seared on the grill and cut off the bone called a tagliata. Here are pictures of them making panigacci.

In summer, the sagre celebrating food in the Lunigiana are too numerous; it's tempting to just head out in the car doing one after another. Folks like to celebrate traditional crafts and cooking, like making Torta di Verdura the old way, right in a central piazza. I almost can't wait to return.

Don't know where the Lunigiana is? We have a Lunigiana map with information on visiting. Don't know what a sagra is? Head on over to Italy for Visitor's Basic Italian Travel Words glossary, and get the Italian words you need to know to get the most out of your travels.