All language subtitles for A.Taste.of.Italy.S01E10.Lucca.1080p.WEB-DL.DDP2.0.H.264-squalor

(bright acoustic music)

- I'm chef and
restauranteur Nisha Katona.

The star of the show there
is a gorgeous aubergine.

I love coming to Italy on
delicious foodie forays

to see what Italians
are really eating.

This is a tuna hot dog. I've
never seen anything like it.

Buongiorno.

In the markets, this is
like an Aladdin's cave for

the pork lover, which I am.

On the streets.

And in the restaurants.

It's well worth getting
here just to try this.

Now I'm taking the
path less traveled

to hidden culinary hotspots.

It's one of the most beautiful
cities I have ever seen.

On a voyage to uncover
recipes and ingredients

passed down through generations.

(laughter)

You bring in your
family, your history.

- Our history is the
base of our future.

- Proving there's more to
Italian food than just pizza.

Mint and tuna, try it. I would
never have thought about it.

And on the way I'll be
cooking up new dishes

inspired by my travels.

- This is fantastic.

- A million different colors

and a thousand
different flavors.

So join me on an
idyllic Italian escape.

Delicious.

(opera music)

Today I'm in Tuscany's
rural heartland

in the beautiful city of Lucca,
a stunning renascence gem

circled by four kilometers
of intact ancient walls,

unique to Italy.

Although Lucca is only
40 kilometers away

from the Tuscan
capital of Florence,

it has its own distinct cuisine

and really traditional dishes,

and far fewer
tourists to try them.

Well, that's all the
more for me then.

I'm going to taste as
many of those local dishes

as I can to get inspiration
for my own Tuscan dish.

One of the great things
about Italian towns is that

you can get a real good clue
about the food of the area

by seeing what fresh
produce is on show in

the local shops
and in the streets.

A great indicator of what
really sits at the heart

of a city's cuisine
is to look at what

the locals are
grabbing on the go.

What is that street
food that they revere?

And I've been told
about a particular dish

that I've really got to try.

I'm on my way to
Pizzeria Da Felice.

The most popular place for
a favorite local snack.

A crispy chickpea pancake
cooked in a wood-fired oven.

Buongiorno!
- Buongiorno!

- I hear there is a very good

street food snack
that you sell here.

Is it cecina?

- Yes. This is a chickpea pie.

It's made with chickpea's
flour, water, salt, and oil.

We drop in the copper pan
is a liquid like crepes.

And we bake it in the oven.

- In the pizza oven.
I'd love to try it.

How do you eat it?

- Yes, you can eat by the slices

with a sprinkle of
pepper, if you like it.

Or into the focaccia
bread, like a sandwich.

- Even in bread, that's
carbs and carbs and carbs.

- [Pizzeria Worker] Yeah.
(laughter)

- [Nisha] This
family run pizzeria

is headed up by mum Merissa,
who takes charge of the oven.

The pancake might be
a very simple recipe

but there is a real precision
in the cooking of it.

Copper is the perfect
heat conductor so

the pan cooks it evenly
and the wood-fired oven

gives it a great
crunchy texture.

- Pepper?

- Is that all you
put on it, pepper?

- Yes.

- It smells nutty.

There's really deep flavors.

This is just chickpeas
gram flour and water.

Ready in minutes, isn't it?

And just seasoned with
a bit of black pepper.

And if I can't tell you,
there is so much flavor that.

It's really satisfying and
warming, and it's so nutritious.

It's full of protein,
completely gluten free.

And yes, I'm getting
the hit of one of the

nicest kind of savory
flans that you could have.

Thank you so much for
this. I will be back.

- [Pizzeria Worker] Thank
you! You are welcome.

- Gratzi.

In Lucca, you're spoiled
for choice when it comes to

good restaurants full
of great rustic recipes.

One of the dishes I've been
told I have to try in Lucca

is a vegetable soup
with a difference.

So I'm coming to one of the
oldest trattoria's in town

to see what makes
it so remarkable.

And on a wet day like today,

a hot bowl of soup
is just what I need.

And this is what I'm
looking forward to tasting.

A rich velvety warming
soup bursting with

the freshest homegrown
Tuscan vegetables

and crowned with the spice
of peppery olive oil.

So I'm here at the
renowned Trattoria Gigi,

run by husband and wife
team Carmine and Andrea,

to see how it's made.

They've been serving
traditional dishes to

the people of Lucca since 1962.

And this is the perfect
place to learn about a taste

that has stood the test of time.

Buongiorno.
- Oh, buongiorno, Nisha.

- Nice to see you.

- My pleasure. How
are you, tutto bene?

- Tutto bene. This is
such a charming old place.

I'm here to see a
soup that I know

this place is well-known for,
that Lucca's well known for.

- Yes. Frantoiana
is called the soup.

- Frantoiana.
- Frantoiana.

The soup of the oil meal.

- Is that the most
popular soup here?

- Yes. Frantoiana
is the most popular

and famous soup
we have in Lucca.

- Oh, incredible. Nothing
less than that, hey.

Could you show me
how to make it?

- Follow me. We
go in the kitchen.

Carmine's wife, Andrea,
is already prepping

an abundance of locally
grown Tuscan veggies.

- You're working hard.
- [Carmine] Yes.

- So tell me, how many
vegetables have we got?

- Fresh onions,
carrots, and potatoes.

Cavolo nero, like kale.

- Cavolo nero. I love that
that's so important to you.

It's such a great vegetable.

- It's typical of Tuscany,
Lucca and Tuscany.

- How old is this soup?

- The soup is 800, 900 years
old, in the medieval age.

- Incredible.

As well as being
a medieval recipe,

this soup is also cooked to
commemorate an annual festival.

- We cook this soup to
celebrate the olive harvest.

- And the sheer abundance
of quality produce

that's going into this
soup also celebrates

Lucca's fertile lands
and they honor as much

of each vegetable as they can.

If there's one thing we
can learn from this soup

it's the fact that you
use all the celery.

- Fresh tasting, fresh.

This remember to the
grass, to the countryside.

- It is, it's like
opening a window

onto green pastures
in your mouth.

So let us never throw the
tops of celery away again.

As the vegetables
tumble into the pan

and the nutrients are released,

the kitchen fills with a
deliciously wholesome aroma.

That's like a symphony.

To utilize all those
glorious veg flavors,

a drop of the region's
finest grape juice.

- [Carmine] This is wine.
- [Nisha] Wine!

- A dry white wine.

- [Nisha] And this is
a lot of wine, Andrea,

it's a lot of wine.

Immediately elevating
this from being

a simple vegetable soup,

the wine gives a heady
zing to the whole dish.

The taste is further
ramped up with

the edition of
fiery fennel seeds.

It just smells incredible.
So many flavors.

There's celery, there's sort of.

It's kind of aniseedy.

A citrusy sweet note
of tomato adds harmony

to this mouth watering medley.

And this is like a passata.
- [Andrea] Passata.

- [Carmine] Yes.

- [Nisha] And now for
the final vegetable,

borlotti beans to give
a lovely nutty taste.

- Borlotti, brown beans.
- Big brown bean moment.

And now Andrea starts to
pot blend the cooked beans

It's a great tip, isn't it?

To blend some beans
if you want to thicken

a sauce or a soup
or a casserole.

Aside from giving the soup
a nutty taste and more body,

they're also a key ingredient
in this historical soup.

- The beans were the
protein of the poor peoples.

200 years ago, the
people couldn't eat meat

because meat was
for rich people.

For this reason, the
beans are very important.

- Finally, the soup is topped up

with water and a dash of salt.

It's so simple and so wholesome

and it's my favorite
kind of cooking,

which is one pot,
one spoon. (laughs)

- Yes.
- I can't wait to taste it.

And while the
vegetables meld together

in a half hour simmer, I
pop out for a stroll around

the charming neighborhood
near the trattoria.

- Oh, Nisha, the soup is ready.

And now the moment
of the olive oil.

- So I take the olive oil.

It's beautiful.
- On the top.

- On the top. A little bit?

- No, no.

- A good bit.
- [Carmine] A good bit!

- Oh, I like your spirit. Wow!

The new season's olive
oil is drizzled cold onto

the warm soup, giving
a fresh grassy taste

and a gorgeous golden sheen.

Oh, amazing.

- [Carmine] Buon appetito.

- It's almost like a stew,
it's so thick and rich.

It is fantastic.

I can taste the wine and
the tomato. It is alive.

- A symphony of vegetables.

- A symphony of
vegetables, my word.

- Buon appetito, Nisha.

- It's stunning. Thank
you so much, Carmine.

It's beautiful.

- You are welcome.

- Incredible explosion of
flavors, the textures as well.

It's not sloppy. There's
always a bite to it.

Beans are nutty but that
fennel makes it exquisite.

It makes it almost exotic.

It's so unusual and
it's so wonderful.

This is peasant cuisine
but, by goodness,

it has such an elegance to it.

It's really delicious.

Who could believe that vegetable
soup would taste so sublime

and it's lovely to see a
traditional recipe preserved

and still celebrated today.

I'm loving getting my taste
buds around Lucca's food,

and I've luckily still got
room to fit in a main course.

And what better than a dish
that's synonymous with Italy.

Pasta.

It might have originated
outside the country

brought over by the Arabs
in the ninth century.

But since then the Italians
have truly made it their own.

Every city in Italy has a pasta
dish that really defines it.

In Lucca it's the
tordelli lucchesi.

And I'm gonna go and discover
what makes it so beloved.

This is Osteria Del Manzo,

a cool contemporary restaurant
that specializes in beef,

one of the key
ingredients in tordelli.

And as befit, it's
a well loved dish,

there are strict rules
as to it's preparation.

Each tordello is
religiously filled with

a deliciously rich mixture
of beef, pork and cheese.

The egg pastry is gorgeously
yellow and, when filled,

is always cut into half moons

and served in a beef
and red wine ragu.

Whenever I eat in a
restaurant in Lucca,

I ask what they
recommend and the answer

always comes back the same.

Tordello lucchesi, they say,
why are you even asking?

And they talk about
this dish as though

it's a member of the
family that they love.

So it's got to the point where
I now can't wait to meet it.

I thankfully won't
have long to wait.

As in the kitchen,
some young chefs

are preparing my tordelli.

And bringing it to
the table is Antonio,

the restaurants owner.

- [Antonio] Your tordelli.

- My tordelli.

- It is not ravioli, not
tortelli, but tordelli with D.

- And what makes it so special?

What is it that's in particular?

- Oh, it's special
because it's very fat.

It's fat like a little
bird in Italian, tordo.

So tordo, tordello.

- That's a generous dish.

I mean they're fat
parcels, aren't they?

I'm gonna taste this.

This is a big moment.
I've been hearing so much.

- It's a big moment but
you need a glass of wine.

- To cut through all
that meaty goodness,

a glass of Tuscan red
is just what's needed.

They are fat and generous
and as generous as

the spirit of the people
of Lucca, I think.

And on that note, there's
only one thing left to do.

And so here's a toast to
the fat birds. (laughs)

- Cheers.
- Thank you.

- Cheers. Salute.

Even after those meaty tordelli,

I haven't finished with the
taste of Lucca just yet.

And before I cook my own
Tuscan inspired dish,

there's a historic
bakery I'm told

deserves a visit
for a sweet treat.

I'm in the beautiful old
city of Lucca in Tuscany.

These ancient walls surround
the historical center

and were originally built
to keep out invaders.

Happily, the walls are
now a tree lined walkway,

which is a perfect
place for a passeggiata.

A passeggiata, or a walk,
allows me to reflect on

the food I've eaten
so far in Lucca.

And one thing strikes me
about all three dishes

and that's the
reverence given here

to the most simple ingredients.

That rustic soup elevated to
celebrate an important harvest.

The humble chickpea turned into

a hot and healthy
golden medallion.

And those fat little
pasta parcels, so beloved,

they're almost a
symbol of the city.

And now before I turn my
own hunt to the stove,

I've been told
about a pastry that

has almost a mythical property.

I've come to try a bread
that the people of Lucca

feel so strongly about
that there is a saying that

if you come to Lucca and
don't try the buccellato,

it's like you've never been.

That's how indignant these
people are about their food.

So it'd be rude of
me not to try it.

Forno Giusti has been
making traditional breads

and pastries since 1823 and
is the only bakery in Lucca

to still cook with a
traditional steam oven.

Which allows bread
like the buccellato,

to rise perfectly and
develop a lovely crust.

- Buongiorno.
- Buongiorno, signora.

- Do you have buccellato?

- Yes. This is buccellato.

- Enormous! I didn't
realize it was so big.

- This is bread, a
very simple bread

with sugar, raisin and onions.

This is Roman originally,
so it's very, very old.

- Why is it so significant here?

- 'Cause even Lucchesi
all over the world,

when they come back the
first thing they do,

they eat buccellato.

- What's so amazing is
it's just a raisin bread

but this symbolizes the fact
that you've been to Lucca.

For us, we come away with a
post card and a fridge magnet,

here, you've got to
have eaten this bread.

This is what bring you home.

Have you had this
since your childhood?

- Yeah, I remember
that when I was a kid,

there was many
people in the streets

selling several
buccellato on their arms,

selling to the people.

- So charming.

- It was easy to carry young

so you could bring several
buccellato with your arms.

- It's so ceremonial and
it's just a raisin bread.

I love how much you revere
something as humble as that.

- Thank you. Do
you want to taste?

- I'd love to taste some.

With my first taste of
this esteemed buccellato,

I feel I'm about to become
an honorary Lucchesi.

This smells so spicy,
it's incredible.

I can smell the aniseed.

Tastes like
Christmas and Easter.

Tastes like festival.
Really lovely.

- Simple and good.

- The good old Romans, hey.
- Yeah.

- And the Lucchesi.

And after that
delicious raisin bread

brings my tasting of
the city to an end,

I feel I'm really
beginning to understand

what it means to
eat like a Lucchesi.

I've been endlessly
surprised and fascinated by

the celebration of simple,
fresh ingredients here.

And I can't wait to get cooking.

The thing that really
resonated with me

and the thing that has inspired
me to take to the kitchen,

is that fantastic
vegetable Tuscan soup

cooked by Carmine and Andrea.

I'm gonna show you a
fantastic, simple version

that is quick and superbly
healthy and delicious.

As you can see, my
version is a lot lighter

in color and in taste.

I'm not using rich tomatoes

and instead of
strong fennel seeds,

I'm going for the zing
of the fresh bulb.

Dark strong, borlotti
beans are replaced

with subtly perfumed cannellini.

And crucially, I'm pan
frying my veg quickly.

So we'll have a light
broth like soup,

instead of a near stew.

I'm even going to use
a softer alternative

to sharp tangy onions, leaks.

This is the kind
of vegetable that

we walk past in the supermarket.

It's time that we
celebrated them.

So I've just chopped some leaks

and that's gonna go
in instead of onions.

And that's going to
bring you that beautiful,

sweet, tangy base to this.

I've also prepped some
courgettes, carrots, and cabbage

so I can quick cook
all the veg together.

And here's a tip
to ensure you get

the maximum taste out of them.

If you put salt in
your vegetables towards

the beginning of a cook, it
encourages the water out.

And it makes the whole thing
meld that little bit quicker,

that little bit better.

Second, let's go in with the
carrots. Think about your veg.

The birds are singing,
isn't that wonderful?

The carrots are hard,
they're gonna take

a bit longer to cook so
let's get those in now.

I've got some cabbage
here, savoy cabbage,

and that also has
got some fiber to it.

So let's get that in
as early as possible.

Keeping it at a nice
medium, low heat.

I've got some courgettes.

And onto one of my favorite
ingredients in a soup.

Potato is great in
soups because it kind of

gives a natural
body to the soup.

If you want a really
clear, light soup,

don't put the potato
in, you don't need it.

So in go the potatoes.

So far all I've done
is chopped whatever veg

I can get hold of
as roughly as I like

and put them together
with a bit of olive oil

and salt to let
them sweat together,

to draw those
wonderful flavors out.

While my soup is different
from Carmine and Andrea's,

I did love the way they
honored all the veg.

What was so wonderful about
the way that they cooked

is that they used every
part of the vegetable.

And it's a really
good lesson for us.

The tops of the celery plants,

there's no reason why we're
not cooking with those.

I'm using the whole vegetable
today, leaves and all.

So chop and put to one side

so another fresh veg
can take center stage.

Now, I'm not using
fennel seed in this

because you can't always
get hold of fennel seed.

And it can be a little
bit overpowering.

Instead, I'm using
the fennel bulb.

The tendrils, they
taste of aniseed,

they taste a bit of dill and
they are beautiful to look at.

So I'm gonna chop those in
and I'm gonna put those in

towards the end, just
to dress my soup.

So roughly chop the
fennel bulb into chunks

and add them to the pan.

And it really makes a dish
pop. It gives it a lovely zing.

I'm gonna throw my celery
in now, with the tops.

Do you remember that cavolo nero

that they were so lyrical about?

This is a fantastic vegetable.

This dish is completely
packed with flavor.

And a lot of that
flavor comes from

a really unusual
ingredient, I thought,

for vegetable soup,
which is white wine.

So I'm gonna put a
good glug of that in.

Well, slightly more than a glug.

Getting on a medium heat and
get that wine cooked down

so the smell of alcohol goes

and instead you get that
wonderful, elegant fragrance

that you get whenever
you cook with white wine.

In fact, I'm adding hardly
any water to the soup.

So it will have
lots of wine flavor,

the perfect accompaniment
to the vegetables.

So this has had
about 35, 40 minutes.

And the way that I
know it's done is

because there's still a
bit of bite to the carrot,

but the other vegetables
are lovely and soft.

We are ready for that triumphant
ingredient of the Tuscan's,

the bean.

I'm using cannellini beans.

The reason this is so important

is because it really
adds a fantastic body.

It adds protein,
it adds nuttiness,

and a fullness of flavor.

Cannellini is a
very delicate bean

and the pale color looks
good against the vibrant veg.

Cook them for another 10
minutes and the soup is ready.

This smells phenomenal,
absolutely gorgeous.

Beautiful, full of
color, full of flavor.

I'm just putting a few
of my fennel fronds on

to give it that lovely
fragrance and freshness.

Wonderful Tuscan vegetable soup,

so reassuringly and full
of flavor and warmth.

And there's my simple light
and quick Tuscan inspired soup.

Packed with the freshest
veggies, cooked in wine

and made a bit fancy
with a few fennel fronds.

And here to taste it
are my new friends

and soup aficionados,
Carmine and Andrea.

So this is the homage
to you and to Lucca.

So this is my version, Andrea.

I think that means
it smells okay.

- Now we taste.
- Now you taste.

- Very tasty. Fresh.

- Is the soup good,
though, Andrea?

(speaking Italian)

- This is lighter
than frantoiana.

It's a nice touch
for the stomach.

- [Nisha] A light touch?
- A light touch.

A lovely touch.

Complimente. Complimente.

- You are kind.
Thank you so much.

And my simple, light,
wine flavored, veggie soup

marks the end of my glorious
time in lesser known Lucca.

I will be back and I'll
always remember the tastes

and new dishes I
have uncovered here.

(orchestral music)