Riviera Apuana: specialties to taste

Straight from the farmers' fields, we’ll find on our tables an ingredient that cannot be missed: the Massese onion. Red in color and with a strong taste, the onion is used especially in preparations and sautés to add flavor to sauces and many other dishes. Its sweetish flavor, due to its cultivation in sandy soils close to the sea, makes it perfect for eating it fresh, added to salads or, for example, accompanying tomatoes on bruschetta.

Those who love meat and sausages will not be able to resist the Montignoso sausage, which can be purchased in some well-known stores in town. Made from the noble parts of the pig carefully spiced, the sausage has a delicate and fresh, yet savory flavor. These morsels are tasty eaten raw, perhaps on bread paired with a spreadable cheese, or cooked, especially grilled.

Typical of Colonnata, very similar to lard in its making, is the vergazzata, a cured stretched bacon covered with salt and a mixture of spices and herbs. This can be eaten as a sliced cut, but is mostly used as seasoning and browned, precisely because of its intense savor and smell due to the spices.

Accompanying the most delicious charcuterie boards are the typical cheeses of the area, mainly sheep and goat's milk. The climate of the area, strongly influenced by the sea, allows the growth of a very particular spontaneous flora that makes the milk of sheep and goats that feed on it rich in unique organoleptic properties. From the milk, shepherds produce matured and very tasty cheeses such as the Pecorino della Costa Apuana, or shortly-aged cheeses such as the Caprino Apuano, soft or semi-hard, or even fresh and delicate cheeses such as the Massese ricotta.

Sweet, soft, and light, ricotta can also be enjoyed as a dessert and is perfect for stuffing the so-called bollenti, or frittelle di neccio (galettes made with chestnut flour). The village of Antona is famous for the production of chestnut flour which is used to bake typical winter sweets such as castagnaccio and the frittelle di neccio. It is a tradition to prepare these latter on the night of Santa Lucia, which is celebrated between December 12 and 13, and stuff them with spreadable cheese.

In autumn and with the early cold weather, the woods begin to fill with mushrooms, a highly anticipated time for avid pickers. Most of the local species are great to enjoy as soon as they are picked and do not lend themselves well to drying. This is precisely why a typical preparation of the Apuan coast is brine. Salted mushrooms are a traditional product, prepared since time immemorial, given the proximity of the sea from which, precisely, salt was easily extracted. The most commonly used species are rosselle and pinarelli, also known as “Sangiovannin”. This method of preservation, together with the use of flavorings typical of the mountain and lowland areas of the Riviera Apuana Terra Scolpita, makes them a tasty and flavorful dish.

Massa town of oranges and lemons! The warm climate and the sea air encourage the growth of citrus fruits, which color the tables of the Riviera Apuana virtually year-round. The lemon plant can be found in almost every garden, and there were once many lemon houses, both in the city and on the hilly areas. The intensely scented Massese lemon has a bright yellow color and a very fine peel. Indispensable for adding a touch of freshness to dishes, it is an essential ingredient in the preparation of desserts and is very tasty if prepared in slices with a sprinkling of sugar.

The peasant tradition of Montignoso has given birth to a bread that is poor but rich in flavor: the Pane Marocco. This loaf with a golden-yellow crumb is prepared with cornmeal, which in ancient times was produced in abundance by the local population and substituted for the classic white flour that, instead, was in short supply. To enrich the dough fresh black olives, chopped rosemary and chili peppers, sage, garlic and salt, it was finally baked on chestnut leaves. Pane Marocco is a true specialty that still distinguishes the local food tradition. It is eaten fresh, generally as an appetizer.

And finally, what could be better than a good glass of DOC Candia wine of the Apuan Hills to accompany our dishes? Ruby red in color and with a fruity, spicy aroma, this wine is made in the Candia Hills of Massa, produced from Sangiovese and Merlot. Its dry, tannic but well-balanced flavor makes it a perfect wine to drink with meals, excellent with charcuterie and cheese boards, perfect with meat but also suitable for first courses and appetizers.

We'll stop here but the list of typical products of the Riviera Apuana Terra Scolpita would still be long! For every occasion and for every season, it is the variety in climate and landscape of this wonderful area that makes it possible to create delicious dishes from many raw materials and bring them to the table.

There is something for every taste!