"The Tuscan cuisine is an ancient and skilled cuisine made up of simple ingredients and never excessively elaborate. Simplicity however that is more apparent than real, in that each dish is made up of well balanced portions, never inspired by haste, but by patient attention to the choice and the amalgamation of the ingredients.
Even the classical French cuisine, which everyone admires, for the most part has its origins in Florence, transported by the cook who followed the French court of Caterina de'Medici in the 1500s"

Some Restaurants and Pizzerias near by the Villa la Pergola, where it's possible to eat typical Tuscan dishes.Tastes, never lost in time, certainly slightly changed with trends, but always present on the tables of the Tuscany. The plates are cooked with fresh products from the gardens,woods and butchers united by a drizzle of "olio extra vergine" and toasted with a "Chianti Classico".It will be a pleasure to reserve a table for you!

RESTAURANT:

FIORE
Via di Marciola, 112
50018 SCANDICCI (FI) 
tel. 055768678

GIOGOLIROSSI RISTORANTE
Via di Giogoli, 10/B
50018 SCANDICCI (FI)
tel. 0552577877

ANASTASIA CLUB
Via di Mosciano, 5
50018 SCANDICCI (FI)
tel. 055740601

LA LANTERNA
Via Pulica,117
50056 MONTELUPO F.no (FI)
tel. 0571 542021

PIZZERIA:

IL CROSTINO
Via Vivaldi, 45
50018 SCANDICCI (FI) 
tel. 055755689

LO SPIGO
Via Pulica,99 (La Villa)
50056 MONTELUPO F.no (FI) 
tel. 0571 9292111

Preparation time: 20 minutes 
Cooking time: one hour 45 minutes.

300g potatoes. 
300g savoy cabbage. 
300g black cabbage (kale). 
4 ripe tomatoes. 
500g fresh cannellini beans (250g if dried). 
200g Swiss chard. 
One red onion. 
3 cloves garlic. 
2 sticks celery. 
2 Carrots. 
2 courgettes. 
Thyme. 
4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil. 
Wholemeal bread, a day or two old. 
Chili pepper. 
Salt.

It is best to cook the beans on their own first, perhaps the day before, as they cook much more slowly than the rest of the vegetables (see the recipe for fagioli in olio). Clean, wash, peel and chop all the vegetables and put into a large saucepan. Cover with water and cook for 40 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the cooked beans. Fry the onion with the oil and chili pepper (if liked) in an earthenware casserole; add the thyme leaves. Cut the bread into cubes and put into the casserole; now pour in the soup and cook gently for about ten minutes, then leave to stand off the heat.

Before serving, it should be put in the oven to cook again for twenty minutes, with olive oil drizzled on top. You can also garnish the soup with rings of raw onion before putting it into the oven as, once baked, they give a really special flavour to this favourite classic.