Copyright 2012 by Frances Mayes

and Edward Mayes

Photographs copyright 2012 by
Steven Rothfeld
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by
Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint
of the Crown Publishing Group, a
division of Random House, Inc.,
New York.
www.crownpublishing.com
www.clarksonpotter.com

Clarkson Potter is a trademark and

Potter with colophon is a registered
trademark of Random House, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-inPublication Data
Mayes, Frances, and Edward Mayes.
The Tuscan sun cookbook / Frances
Mayes and Edward Mayes; photographs
by Steven Rothfeld. 1st ed.
1. Cooking, ItalianTuscan style.
2. Cookbooks. I. Mayes, Edward
Kleinschmidt. II. Title.
TX723.2.T86M394 2012
641.59555dc22
2011013195

ISBN 978-0-307-88528-9
eISBN 978-0-307-95386-5
Printed in China
Design by Marysarah Quinn
Photographs by Steven Rothfeld
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
first edition

FRIED ARTICHOKES

s a Southerner, to me the words deep fried are an enchanting combination. We never met an
artichoke, when I was growing up, except the kind that was marinated in a jar. Still, carciofi
fritti seem like soul food.
At the Thursday market in season, vendors, many of whom have driven their trucks all night from
Puglia, sell five sizes of artichokes. For stuffing with bread, herbs, and tomatoes, I buy the largest
ones. For frying, the smallest, purple-tinged violetti or morellini are best. Tiny violetti, sliced raw and
dressed, make an astringent crunchy salad, which exemplifies the Tuscan preference for bitter tastes.
For these fried beauties, remember that the stem is as tasty as the heart. Sometimes four or five
inches long, the stems can be peeled with a vegetable peeler. Cut each artichoke in half, leaving the
stem attached. If theyre small enough, fry them like this. If not, slice each in half again, paring off any
choke. Be sure to remove all tough outer leaves.
Matching wine with artichokes is daunting, but weve tried fried artichokes with Friulano, formerly
called Tocai, the darling of the province of Friuli-Venezia-Giulia. The usual suggestion, however,
is a Gewrztraminer.
serves 4

2
15

batter for frying (page 49)

cups peanut or sunflower oil, for frying
very small artichokes
coarse salt to taste
lemon wedges, for garnish

Prepare the batter and let it rest for 20 minutes.

In a medium skillet, heat the oil to 350F.
Strip all tough outer leaves from the artichokes and cut away the top third. Trim off
any sharp tips from the lower leaves. Halve or quarter the artichokes.
Dip the artichokes in the batter, and then slide them into the oil. Fry the artichokes in
batches until crisp and browned, about 4 minutes, depending on size. When done,
remove them to paper towels to drain, salt immediately, then pile them on a board and
pass with wedges of lemon.

5 0 [ the tuscan sun cookbook

Giusis RAG

low and easylong-simmered rag is the quintessential Tuscan soul food. There are as many
ways with rag as there are cooks. This is ours, learned originally from Giusi, whos made it a
thousand times. By now, I think we have, too. On many Saturday mornings, Ed makes a huge pot of
ragtripling, quadrupling the recipeand another of tomato sauce. We consider these our natural
resources. For lunch, while the pots are still on the stove, we spoon rag over bruschetta, add some
cheese, and run it under the broiler. By afternoon, were ready to fill several glass containers of
different sizes and freeze them. Were then free to pull one out during the workweek.
Serve rag in lasagne or over spaghetti and, as you eat, you know youre participating in a communal rite thats being enacted all over the Italian peninsula.
s e r v e s 10

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 pound ground lean beef

1 pound ground pork

2 italian sausages, casings removed

1 teaspoon salt

teaspoon pepper

2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves or 1 teaspoon dried

1 to 2 cups red wine

1 cup soffritto (page 20)

2 tablespoons tomato paste
16 to 20 tomatoes or 2 28-ounce cans whole tomatoes, juice
included, chopped

Pour the olive oil into a 4-quart heavy pot with a lid. Over medium-high heat, brown the
meats, breaking up the sausage with a wooden spoon, about 10 minutes. Add the salt,
pepper, thyme, and 1 cup of the red wine. After the wine has cooked into the meat, about
10 minutes, add the soffritto, and stir in the tomato paste and tomatoes.
Bring the sauce to a boil, and then lower to a quiet simmer. Partially cover, and
continue cooking for 3 hours, stirring now and then. Along the way, add the remaining
cup of wine if you think the sauce is too dense.

7 0 [ the tuscan sun cookbook

Combine the garlic and parsley in a small bowl with the zest,
2 tablespoons of the olive oil, teaspoon salt, and teaspoon pepper. Set aside.
In a large bowl, mix the marinade ingredients. Lay the chicken flat, skin side up, on
your work surface. Stuff the garlic mixture under the skin and place the chicken in the
marinade. Cover and refrigerate for a few hours or, even better, overnight. Turn it two or
three times.
Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a heatproof cast-iron pan large
enough to hold the chicken. I use a 14-inch cast-iron skillet. Place the chicken breast side
up and weight it down with two clean bricks wrapped in foil. Cook over medium heat for
10 minutes, and then place the pan and bricks in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove the
weights and turn the chicken over, cooking another 20 minutes or so, until crispy and
richly browned, about 50 minutes total. Remove the chicken to a platter and cut into
serving pieces. Deglaze the pan with the wine and pour the juices over the chicken.

CHICKEN with OLIVES

and TOMATOES
serves 4

5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 chicken, 3 to 4 pounds, cut into 8 pieces, dredged
in about cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
teaspoon pepper
cup red wine
1 cup mixed black and green olives, pitted
1 handful of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 cup chopped oven-roasted tomatoes (see page 42)

his is the little

black dress in a
cooks repertoire
always right.
Take Querciabella,
Chianti Classico DOCG,
a biodynamic wine, off
the shelf for this olivestudded chicken.

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat and brown the
chicken pieces, 2 minutes on each side. Season with the salt and pepper. Add the
wine, raise the heat to high for 1 minute, and then transfer everything to a 9 x 13-inch
baking dish.
In a small bowl, mix the olives, parsley, and tomatoes, and pour this over the chicken.
Bake uncovered for 30 to 45 minutes, depending on the size of the pieces, turning the
chicken once.

secondi

\ 117

STRAWBERRY SEMIFREDDO

ot gelato, not
sorbettosemifreddo occupies a niche.
The light and creamy
texture melts fast in your
mouth, leaving the
essential freshness of
the fruit. Its easy, too,
since you need no ice
cream machine. Semifreddo keeps well in the
freezer for a week.

serves 8

1
1
1
4

1

1

pints strawberries, hulled

tablespoon orange juice
cups sugar
eggs
cup whole milk
teaspoon vanilla extract
cup (4 ounces) mascarpone
cups heavy cream

Pure the strawberries (reserving and refrigerating several pretty

ones) with the orange juice and 2 tablespoons of the sugar. Chill the
pure in a large bowl until ready to use.
Bring water almost to a boil in the bottom of a double boiler, then
lower the heat to a good simmer. In the top, beat
the eggs with the remaining sugar, the milk,
and vanilla. Whisk continuously for 10 to
14 minutes, or until the mixture thickens and
forms trailing ribbons. Reserve cup of the
strawberry pure, then whisk the egg mixture
into the pure. Cool the mixture in the fridge
about 1 hours.
Line a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with plastic wrap,
leaving a few inches overhanging the sides.
When the strawberry-egg mixture has
cooled, whisk in the mascarpone. In a separate
bowl, whip the cream until firm peaks form.
Fold the cream into the strawberry and mascarpone mixture.
Pour the semifreddo into the pan, and freeze
for at least 4 hours. Unmold by loosening the
plastic wrap, then inverting the pan onto a
serving dish. Add the reserved strawberries to
the remaining cup strawberry pure and
spoon this over the semifreddo in the dish or
over individual servings.

18 6 [ the tuscan sun cookbook