June 17, 2023
Le Versegge Resort and its Re Sugo Restaurant are located in the Tuscan Maremma, and here you can find typical Maremma dishes: here are the best ones. Whether it's in May or for a vacations in October, a 'Renaissance' persists in itscuisine made of very simple and direct flavors. Let's see together what's boiling in the pot....
Maremma had long been an unhealthy and dangerous land, infested with disease and banditry. A land forgotten and to be forgotten. The Grand Duchy of Tuscany, put great energy into the Maremma and began an immense reclamation operation. The Maremma is reborn as a productive land. It attracts a lot of labor from all over Italy and thus becomes a crossroads of different cultures. Certainly the culinary advice of Veneto and Emilia Romagna determined a sure predisposition in the kitchen to work with egg pasta, which, in Maremma, reserves a sure leading role for ricotta and spinach tortelli.
Precisely the characteristic of the agricultural sector, dictates an "operational" and practical cuisine for consumption. For this great importance is focused on:
Everything you need to feed yourself in a balanced way at noon. In the mornings the Butteri (Maremma cowboys) would leave very early on horseback and it was essential to have a good charge of energy to take with you, put on a simmer inside the cauldron and eat at lunchtime. This isacqua cotta, a soup made from stale bread, with vegetables such as black cabbage, onion, celery and poached egg. A practical and simple dish.
For a better orientation to Maremma cuisine, here we are at Re Sugo, a brilliant restaurant nestled in the countryside and inside Le Versegge Residence. The creative project is to offer Maremma cuisine but revised and corrected with imagination and creativity. The innovation of tradition.
The formula respects certain parameters:
Cold cuts - Cold cuts have a great tradition in Maremma. In some cases, the processing is run in the family, as with Salumificio Silvano Mori in Torniella, which has been working with Re Sugo for more than 15 years.
Cheeses - Even the cheeses in this small restaurant are the fruit of a family business: the Caseificio Il Fiorino is able to create true "forms" of poetry. Among all of them is the Riserva del Fondatore, a truly noteworthy pecorino deserving of the many awards collected internationally.
Egg Pasta - But Maremma cuisine is also distinguished by its excellent egg pasta: tagliatelle and ravioli above all. The latter are the ricotta and spinach tortelli, a culinary contamination from northern Italy that, however, is well established in Maremma with countless schools of thought. Another first course of excellence is undoubtedly Pici, which originated in the Siena area but in Maremma go well with red and white meat sauces or with garlic and chili.
Sauces - Sauces in Maremma have a great history: the ragout here is well assorted of choice cuts and not as trivial as one would like to believe. Certainly among the most coveted sauces is the wild boar ragout that is in great demand to accompany tagliatelle or tortelli. Among the first courses, in addition to Acquacotta, other soups should be mentioned, vegetable or mushroom soups that, in Maremma, favor the use of bread as a key ingredient.
The forest offers so much to Maremma cuisine. Mushrooms but not only: field asparagus is hard to find but can ennoble an omelet in a unique way. And then the game that is for Maremma a real reason for existence. Pheasant stew, woodcock crostini, are dishes to try at least once in a lifetime. And then the wild boar, which, for all Maremma people, represents the symbol of this shy land. Wild boar is usually cooked alla cacciatora with tomato, but there are many recipes that enhance this King of the Woods. Da Re Sugo is in white, with herbs, Vermentino wine and orange. Wild boar in dolce forte also includes dark chocolate in the recipe--a real treat. Boar ste w or with apples are other variations on the theme.
Red meat - Red meat is another chapter of the cuisine. Also at King Sugo's you can eat a special tender and flavorful filet that is marinated with many herbs: mint, marjoram, thyme, sage, chives, oregano and orange peel. It is wrapped in smoked bacon and baked in the oven. A real treat.
Fish - Certainly in Maremma there is also fish. It is a pity that the Maremmani are not fishing men and therefore seafood cuisine is limited to a few dishes and is not best expressed. Reason this has never pushed the Maremmani too far off the beach, preferring the work of the land or pastoralism.
Sweets - Maremma sweets are those of grandmothers in the kitchen. Fruit tarts and doughnuts especially. Sweets for festivities such as Pan dei Santi or Carnival grogetti.
In conclusion, let us also talk about the wine that has for some time now bewitched the palate of many experts. Maremma under the wine profile has shown great content under the cultivation and production aspect. At Re Sugo you will find two wines of great excellence: the DivinoRe and the Bianchino. These are also the result of a collaboration with the Gramineta di Roccastrada winery that produces them with true passion and love.
Today's country vacation cannot exclude food a priori. It is useless to go on vacation to a place, not to eat and drink properly. Knowing the food means knowing the soul of that land and fully experiencing it even at the table. This is a recipe that guarantees the quality of a vacation but, more generally, also the quality of our living.
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