Bettino Ricasoli
Florence, 1809 – Siena, 1880
Bettino Ricasoli was born into one of oldest aristocratic families in Tuscany. His family, like many others, had lived and worked in their own castles and on their own properties for centuries. His family felt an almost sacred calling to take care for the land. Ricasoli, also known as the Iron Baron, for his morality and honesty, felt a moral and civil obligation to protect and cultivate his family’s land. However, in 1859, Florence was liberated from their last Duke and Baron Ricasoli was placed in charge of the city due to the fame he received for being faithful to the land.
He was undoubtedly a valuable and passionate politician and was given the office of Prime Minister of Italy after Cavour. He created a government of honest and upright men, with whom he tackled all of the most difficult problems facing the country. Ricasoli, however, was criticized for being too strict and a group of people used to conspiracy and covert dealings turned against him. In the end, Ricasoli was forced to resign from office.
Ricasoli returned to his land and castle in Brolio, and to his mission of using his energy to care for the countryside. The Baron began cultivating grapes and studying various grape varieties in order to produce his own Chianti. He is partly responsible for the wine’s fame.
This measured and incorruptible man was well cultured in both food and wine. He loved simple dishes that a farmer might have prepared. He found them in keeping with his character.
The recipes
Vegetable soup (Ricasoli’s style)
Ingredients (serves 4)
- 1 white cabbage
- 1 lb beans white
- 3 ½ oz pancetta (Italian bacon)
- 1 ¾ oz extra virgin olive oil
- 2 pork sausages garlic
- 4 slices bread
- broth to taste
Preparation
40 minutes preparation + 25 minutes cooking
Boil the beans until almost cooked; cut the cabbage into thin strips and stir-fry in oil over a moderate heat. When the cabbage is half cooked, add the beans, the pancetta, diced, the sausages, crumbled, and the stock. Once the soup is cooked, pour it over toasted bread slices into a tureen.
Pot roast with Brolio Chianti
Ingredients (serves 8)
- 2 lb lean beef
- 1 lb tomato pulp
- 1 cup Chianti wine
- 5 onions
- 1 carrot
- 1 stalk celery
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1 half cup extra virgin olive oil
- meat broth to taste
Preparation
30 minutes preparation + 3 hours cooking
In saucepan, stir-fry a mixture of finely chopped onion, celery and carrot (when in season, a handful of basil leaves). Once the vegetables have softened, add the meat, larded with garlic cloves, season with salt and pepper, and tied up with kitchen string; brown carefully, then pour in the wine.Once the wine has evaporated, add the tomato purée; cook slowly for 3 – 4 hours, adding a little meat stock if necessary. Once cooked, take the meat out of the pan, remove the string and slice it; reduce the cooking juices and pour the gravy thus obtained, piping hot over the meat slices.
Gastronomic Library
M. RINALDI, La storia è servita: vizi e virtù nel piatto dei grandi della storia, Milano, Golosia & C., 1996.
