Speaking about Monte Amiata is impossible not to name Chestnuts. In Monte Amiata you can find lots of chestnuts’ varieties that from 2002 became IGP. There are: “Marrone”, “Cecio” and “Bastarda Rossa”. You can discover the chestnuts’ roads (IGP) that bring you between medieval towns, nature and history.

Chestnuts are the splendid fruits that give our forest her magical autumnal atmosphere.

Chestnuts grow mainly on the Grosseto, or south-eastern side of Monte Amiata, the most sought after are the Marroni, or “Big Brown Ones”, after which the local village of Marroneto is named.

Visitors may gather chestnuts in the ‘wild’ groves, or, once the official harvest is over, in cultivated, private groves.

 There are seven chestnuts’ roads in Monte Amiata

Chestnut is:

ANTIPASTI CROGIATELLI AMIATINI.

Make a few shallow cuts across the surface of the bread slices, and then place them on the grill to toast. They should be golden and uniformly toasted. As soon as they are ready spread the surface with the chestnut sauce that you’d prepared with boiled chestnuts, honey, a little bit of Vin Santo and dry-cured ham.

MINESTRA DI PECORINO E CASTAGNE.

The first step is boiling chestnuts. When ready, drain, peel and mash them. Add a little bit of stock, Pecorino crumbs and pepper. Then let the mixture boil adding stock till it became a purée. When ready add butter and serve with pieces of fried bread.

CAPPONE DELLE FESTE

The stuffed pork is a typical Christmas dish. To prepare the stuff mix boiled chestnuts with sausages and dry-cured ham in cubes. Then fill the pork and seasoned it with rosemary, salt, pepper, a fair amount of garlic, coriander, nutmeg, and peperoncino. It is then rolled up like a large sausage, securely tied with colourless thread and roasted whole on a spit over charcoal made from aromatic wood for about 4 hours. Cooking time varies according to the piglet's size. The piglet should be basted frequently with a rosemary sprig dipped in oil and with white or red wine.

DESSERT NECCI

The first step is doing the polenta with chestnuts’ flour. The best kind of pot for cooking polenta (cornmeal mush) is the traditional paiolo, a huge copper pot without a tin lining, and with a convex bottom. Stirring is done with a proper wooden paddle called tarello. The pot should only be half full, or the water might overflow when you add the cornmeal. The water should be properly salted in the beginning in order to avoid having to add either salt or water later during cooking. This ratio applies to a soft polenta, which is always served with a condiment or with the addition of other ingredients. If polenta is to be baked, grilled or eaten a substitute for bread, use a 3:1 ratio of water to polenta, and the same amount of salt. Bring the proper quantity of water to a boil, adequately salted, then lower the heat (be careful, because in the beginning, while adding cornmeal, boiling water might easily splash) and add the coarsely ground cornmeal, little by little, stirring constantly. Do not pour directly from the container, but use your hands, pouring a handful at time. After adding all the cornmeal, turn up the heat and cook for 40-50 mins. stirring constantly. While cooking, the heat should be high enough to cause bubbles to rise and burst on the surface. While stirring, pull the cornmeal off the sides of the pot and from the bottom up. While cooking, add a little bit of sugar or honey. When ready poured out the polenta of the paiolo onto a wooden board. Make slices of it and toast well. Then serve with Ricotta cheese.