Tuscany is a magical land, rich of art and culture, but today we aren't going to talk about its landscapes or castles, villages and farms. The “masterpiece” of which we are speaking is a soup! Yes, a real masterpiece which is the result of culinary art that represents Lucca as much as its bell towers and its walls. It's called “Frantoiana Soup” and in centuries delighted all those who have the fortune to taste it. It consists in a vegetable soup with potatoes, kale, cabbage and lots of herbs, a simple dish that families cooked with what they had in the garden, and that expert hands of women, guided by a tradition handed down from mother to daughter, made it a special dish.
There isn't a true recipe because every family cooked the soup on his own way, and every woman learned it from her mother and grandmother. Although the base is the same with beans, potatoes, zucchini, pumpkins, carrots and onion, someone also uses rosemary or thyme, even at the same time; at the end the soup could contain more than 30 herbs! To add flavor, often people add slices of lard or bacon, but some urban legends tell that many families risked the end of marriage because the husband claimed that his wife's soup wasn't good as mom's one!
The process of making that soup started from collecting ingredients from gardens (centuries ago, inside the walls, was full of vegetable gardens) up to the cut of vegetables and cooking, obviously in a clay pot on the fireplace. Once ready, the smell filled the house and was also added olive oil and bread.
Visit Lucca and taste the tipical soup Frantoiana: will be a unique experience and you'll love this ancient flavor!