Portrait: Valentina Solfrini
Despite growing up in Tuscany, south of Siena, the cook and author Amber Guinness spent her childhood summers in England and so, unlike most visitors to the region, she mostly associates Tuscany with the colder months, cosily huddling by the fire in her family’s large stone farmhouse. “I have always loved winter,” she says. “These are the months when Tuscany’s best-known dishes come into their own: ribollita; deep black beef peposo; pici al ragu – all perfect antidotes to the icy winds outdoors.”
Having learned to cook as a child at her mother’s side, today she lives in Florence with her own family and recently published her third book, Winter in Tuscany. Combining gorgeous recipes, memoir and photographs capturing the trattorias, towns and hilltops of this beautiful part of the world after the crowds have thinned and life slows down, it is an evocative celebration of her favourite season.
Alongside rich, meaty mains such as ragu and slow-cooked pork loin, there are elegant yet uncomplicated vegetarian dishes showcasing seasonal produce such as mushrooms, chestnuts and cavolo nero. In fact, she says, while there’s an assumption that Tuscan food is meat-heavy, it includes lots of plants. “To this day, Tuscans are known throughout the rest of Italy as i mangiafagioli – ‘the bean eaters’”, because of how regularly the classic cannellini bean dish fagioli al fiasco accompanies meals.
After a week of cold, crisp weather including snow and storms for many in the UK, Amber shares an easy recipe featuring the fresh flavours of mint, ricotta and spinach formed into little dumplings served in a steaming broth. In the book, she points out that the spinach can be replaced by cavolo nero or swiss chard, and the mint with sage. She also suggests accompanying it with crostini topped with mustardy artichoke for a comforting meal – and perhaps the chance to escape to Tuscany in the mind.
Words by Imogen Carter
Photo: Valentina Solfrini
Mama’s malfatti in broth
Malfatti are little dumplings made of ricotta and spinach. They are also known as gnudi or nudi (“naked”) by dint of them being made of the filling of a classic raviolo, but not being encased in pasta. I describe them as being poached and served in sage butter in my first book, A House Party in Tuscany, but often on a cold winter’s night I’ll eat them this way instead – halving their size and serving them in a steaming bowl of broth topped with a little parmesan. Malfatti in brodo is a signature dish of my mother’s, one she is now famous for among her friends in London, and they often ask her to make it – in particular her boyfriend, who refers to it as “seduction soup”.
Serves 4
Ingredients
Large handful of fresh spinach
Small handful of mint leaves
250g ricotta, drained
3 tbsps grated parmesan, plus extra to serve
Generous grating of nutmeg
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 organic egg
3 tbsps “00” flour (can be substituted with plain or all-purpose flour)
1.2 litres chicken and beef bone broth or vegetable stock
Method
Wilt the spinach in a non-stick saucepan with a tablespoon of water. Once fully cooked, remove from the pan and squeeze and twist out any excess moisture from the spinach using a clean tea towel or paper towel. It’s important to draw out all excess moisture. Very finely chop the spinach with the mint.
Place in a bowl with the ricotta and mix together with a fork. Add the parmesan, nutmeg, salt and black pepper, tasting and adjusting the seasoning as necessary. Mix in the egg, followed by the flour.
Lightly dust a clean surface with flour and flour your hands so the mixture doesn’t stick. Next to you, have a couple of plates on which to place your malfatti.
Using a teaspoon, scoop up a small amount of the mixture to make a small round ball the size of a cherry. Gently drop this on to the floured surface, then roll it in a bit of flour, before picking it up and gently rolling it between the palms of your hands to make little cherry-sized malfatti. The mixture should make about 40 malfatti (10 per person). You can keep these in the fridge for up to 3 days (perhaps covered with an upturned bowl) before poaching them in the broth.
When you’re ready to serve, place four bowls by the stove, ready to ladle the soup into.
Warm your broth in a large saucepan. Once beginning to bubble, reduce the heat to a simmer and start adding the malfatti in batches, being careful not to overcrowd the pan or they’ll stick together. After about 1 min, as each dumpling bobs to the surface, remove them using a slotted spoon, dividing them equally among the serving bowls.
Pour two ladlefuls of the broth into each bowl and serve sprinkled with a little parmesan.
Winter in Tuscany by Amber Guinness is published by Thames & Hudson (£29.99)