As with the rest of Tuscany, the ‘eat well and be healthy’ tradition in Val d’Orcia has not changed. Restaurants still cook ‘in the manner of old housewives’, women who, back in the old days, saw cooking as a duty as well as a pleasure. Today, on special occasions such as local food festivals and other town celebrations, “they” are still the ones that make these simple and fresh dishes. They are simple and yet not so easy to make dishes: The famous Florentine steak, the tasty crostini with spleen and liver, pansanto (a slice of bread seasoned with boiled cauliflower, vinegar and oil), bruschetta (toasted on charcoal fire) topped with the latest season’s olive oil and rubbed with garlic, and panzanella (soaked stale bread topped with tomato, olive oil, onion, basil and other herbs). And then there is the unmissable Pecorino di Pienza, a true delight of the territory that is flavored only with the aromas and herbs of the Val d’Orcia.
Pici are a must for the travelers. They are a kind of hand-made spaghetti, served in a tomato and meat sauce. Don’t forget to wash your meal down with a glass of Nobile di Montepulciano or Brunello di Montalcino. Otherwise you will only enjoy half of the experience!