Tuscany is a vast region of unique and tasty vegetables, fish, meat, poultry, cured meats, and cheese waiting to be explored. But why wait? To help you set up your pantry, Divina Cucina and Stefano Conti have assembled a Tuscan Kitchen Starter Kit. Click here to order this fabulous package of goodies for setting up a Tuscan kitchen in your home!

Porcini Pasta Sauce The Tuscans have a simple way to cook vegetables that doubles as a light pasta sauce. The cooking technique is called trifolato--sliced thinly and cooked with olive oil, parsley, and garlic. Simply Tuscan! Simply wonderful! Here's my version. Place garlic slices in oil and then heat; this prevents the garlic from burning. Add chopped mushrooms, stir, and salt to taste. The salt draws out the moisture from the vegetables and they stew in their own juices instead of just frying. Cover and let cook until tender. I like to purée half of the vegetables to form a creamy sauce. Add a ladle of the cooking water from the pasta to the sauce. Drain the pasta and then heat the pasta in the sauce. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and stir. This way all the pasta is covered with sauce and the sauce clings to the pasta instead of sliding off! This technique also works with zucchini and eggplant. I do the same with dried porcini, soaking them first in cold water, and then using them like fresh. To stretch the dried porcini, use button mushrooms too; they will absorb the porcini flavor. NEW! Garmugia Watermelon Sorbetto RECIPES Salade de Bœuf à la Parisienne Spaghetti di Vino with Beets Melanzane Grigliate Carciofi Sott'Olio Carciofi Fritti Uove al Diavolo Pesce Finto Green Tomato Pasta Sauce Macedonia di Frutta Fagiolini Mangiatutto Saltati Cinghiale in Dolce Forte Risotto All'Isolana Fettunta Spaghetti di Vino Salame Dolce Cioccolato Caldo Vestri Sugo di Carne Watermelon Ice Osteria Luchin's Polpettone di Patate Federico Bacci's Sage Pesto Frittelle di Riso Romeo Colzi's Ribollita Bollito Misto Yellow Bell Pepper Soup Porcini Pasta Sauce Pappa al Pomodoro Pollo al Mattone Torta di Mele Mimmo's Pasta with Zucchini Erbe Toscane Ricciarelli Tonno e Fagioli Schiacciata con l'uva Panforte Spinaci alla Fiorentina Ribollita Sugo Finto Fagioli all'Olio Panzanella Ravioli Gnudi with Salsa di Noci Arrosto Fiorentino Il peposo alla Fornacina Chicchi Caffè Shakerato Limoncello Nocino Fish in Crazy Water Capresse Click here to send this recipe to a friend!