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We like to
begin our newsletters with a recipe, and we are
about to share a delicious one with you, but before
we do we would like to tell you that this newsletter
is about the wild and wonderful area of Tuscany
known as the Maremma, and the special cattle
that are native to that unique place. Our recipe,
invented in the Maremma by the farmers who raise
the Maremmana cattle, but also well suited to any
beef available, follows.
Last year we gave
a recipe for another beef roast, a Stracotto al
Chianti, that called for the traditional inclusions
of raisins, pine nuts and almonds. This recipe is
may be a bit more of what cooks outside of Tuscany
think of when desiring to prepare a roast with a
special Italian flavor. We hope you will like
Stracotto
Maremmana al Morellino
2 1/2 pounds beef
rump roast, Maremanna if you can find it!2 tablespoons
fat salt pork, diced1/2 cup olive oil4 medium onions,
finely diced2 large cloves garlic, minced2 carrots,
finely chopped1 stalk celery, diced1 1/2 cups red
wine (Morellino preferred)1 pound can chopped tomatoes2/3
cup hot beef broth or stockMaking small slits with
a knife, stud the meat with the salt pork, and roll
and tie with butcher's twine, if necessary. Heat
the olive oil in a large casserole or large heavy
pan and brown the meat on all sides. Lower the heat
and add all the vegetables except the tomatoes.
Cook on medium heat until vegetables begin to brown.
Add the wine and briskly reduce the liquid to about
half its original volume. Season with salt and pepper
and then add the tomatoes.Cover with a tight fitting
lid and simmer, slowly, for three hours until the
meat is extremely tender. Turn the meat occasionally
during the simmering, and add a little hot stock
each time. Remove the meat from the pan and let
it rest for 10 minutes before slicing into 1/2 to
1 inch slices. While the meat is resting, strain
the vegetables and juices in the pan through a sieve,
pushing as much of the vegetables through as possible.
Pour this over the sliced meat and serve with sliced
polenta and/or Tuscan white beans. Some Tuscan cooks
prefer to slice the meat and return it to the juices
until the next day, when they gently reheat the
meat and sauce.This is an incredibly delicious slow-simmered
stewed beef that is absolutely perfect for a Sunday
dinner on a cold night. Please let us know how like
it!
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The Maremma
Position and
Geography
Southeast of Florence
and Chianti lies a vast area if wheat covered flatlands
known as the Maremma. Drive through these waves
of grain and you'll see cowboys in fedoras, known
as Butteri, riding big sturdy Maremmana horses,
working hard at their job of herding the long-horned
Maremmana cattle.The Maremma begins south of Livorno
and form a coastal plain running to the very southern
end of Tuscany. Famous for its cowboys (the butteri),
Etruscans, naturally heated springs, this is a different
and relatively undiscovered Tuscany, with several
large nature reserves, several well-kept hill towns
and countless Roman and Etruscan ruins.A bit to
the east lies Castel del Piano, center of
a dozen well-preserved medieval towns where the
Epiphany, a costumed outdoor pageant heralding the
arrival of the Three Kings, is still performed by
townspeople on the evening of January 5th. To the
west are the shores of the Tyrrhenian Sea, where
a causeway leads to the promontory called Argentario,
site of l'Oasi della laguna, one of the very
few bird refuges in this country of avid bird hunters.
Beautiful water fowl from all over Europe can be
found here.To the north is the capital city of the
area, Grosseto, a beautifully restored 16th-century
walled town that was greatly enhanced by Medici
family patronage. Farther inland are the warm sulfurous
waters of Saturnia, which legend claims
as thefirst town ever built in Italy. Etruscan tombs
abound in this area, centered in the woods around
the semi-derelict town of Sovana. Alsowell worth
visiting are Massa Marittima, Follonica, Magliano
and the nearby ruins of the Romanesque monastery
of San Bruzio, the seaside village of Capalbio and
the Etruscan ruins of Vetulonia.
But one of the best
reasons to explore this area is the chance to see
an unspoiled corner of Tuscany where one can enjoy
nature and watch the butteri carry out there ancient
way of life. The spot for this is
The Maremma
Regional Park
The tract
of Tuscan coast extending from Principina al Mare
to Talamone, bordered on the east by the Aurelia
highway, was declared a regional park in 1975. In
the heart of the Maremma territory, the park runs
to the southwest along the coast. At its southern
tip, the steep eroded coastline of the park descends
sharply to the sea. To the north, the coast gives
way to beaches characterized by numerous species
of vegetation well adapted to this sandy, saline
habitat. Further inland this coastal vegetation
gradually gives way to the dense undergrowth known
as "macchia mediterranea" or Mediterranean
bush land.The Uccellina Regional Park
of the Maremma, founded in 1975, has rich pasture
lands ideal for the Maremmana horses and cows, which
are always carefully controlled by their legendary
guardians, the famous butteri. The park is studded
with green pine-woods, and various typical Mediterranean
vegetation that is an ideal habitat for wild-boar,
deer, porcupine, badgers, martens, and wild rabbits.
A visit is almost sure to include views of wildlife
as well as the domesticated horses and long-horned
cattle of the Maremma.Apart from the park itself,
more than 200,000 hectares of adjoining lands are
designated as protected areas, making up 44% of
the land of the Province. Combined with the Park,
these lands serve to classify the Province of
Grosseto as one of the largest "green areas"
of Italy. A tour of this beautifully pristine and
welcoming land is well worth the visitor's time.The
central and southern part of the park are dominated
by the Monti dell'Uccellina, a series of
hills which culminatein the 417 meter Poggio Lecci.
These hills are today almost completely covered
in the dense woody vegetation of the macchia mediterranea,
with only the lowest parts deforested and given
over to olive groves or pasture. Along the hills
of the Uccellina are strewn medieval towers which
mark the passage of man: the Abbey of San Rabano
(Abbazia di San Rabano), largely in ruins,
and
the towers of Castelmarino,
Collelungo, Cala di Forno and Bella Marsilia. To
the south near Talamone are the remains of a Roman
villa.
The Maremmana
Cattle
In the winter, herds
of Maremmana cattle wander through the thorny shrubs
and maritime pines around the mouth of the Ombrone
River. Their thick skin shields them from the brambles
and spines of the smilax and whitethorn. The herds
find shelter here in the forests that cover the
beautiful Uccellina. They remain until March when
the butteri herd them toward open pastures and the
wheat lands along the ancient canals and ditches
and the line the landscape. The half-moon shaped
horns of the male, and the lyre shaped horns of
the female make these thick skinned beast noticeable.
The butteri brand the animals in May during the
ceremony of the Merca, a festival-rodeo held
on each farm in the Maremma.This breed descends
from ancient animals that the Etruscans raised great
herds of along the coasts of Tuscany and Lazio.
The Maremma cattle have been cross bred with cattle
from all over the nearby regions, and they have
been essential to the genetic improvement of many
other breeds. But the Maremmana cattle are unique
in that they are reared in the wildest of conditions
and they have adapted well, with thick skins and
hearty constitutions, to their lives amid the forests
and plains of the Maremma. Because of their strength
and heartiness, they make splendid beasts of burden
and are used for working the fields, drawing carts
and pulling plows.Sadly, the distinctive cattle
of the Maremma are an endangered breed. The Italian
agrarian census of 1951 counted 170,000 head; today
there are only 30,000. While the herds used to stretch
down through Lazio, they now graze in a much smaller
geographical area. The Maremmana breed can now be
found grazing between the woods of Follonica and
the hills of Viterbo. It's rarity, combined with
the old ways of breeding and grazing, have made
the Maremmana cattle an icon of the Slow Food movement.
The tough meat is sought by connoisseurs, and the
Slow Food people have invented an auction on Maremmana
futures!
The Wine
of the Area
Waiting for
the DOC Maremmana
The most
well-known wine from the area around the Parco di
Maremma is Morellino di Scansano, but its designated
area of production excludes the actual park. The
Morellino is only produced in an area adjacent to
the park, where one can sample this dry red at various
vineyards and local enotecas and restaurants.The
color of the local wine is ruby red, tending to
garnet with aging. The wine has a vinous odor that,
after aging, becomes more intense and ethereal.
This is an appealing and fine wine, with a dry,
austere, warm and slightly tannic flavor.In recent
years, local vintners have done much to improve
on the quality of the Morellino, and local producers
have been inspired by the success of the Morellino
to attempt to finally give order to the various
wines produced in this wild and under visited territory.
The area of the Parco itself is under consideration
for a DOC Maremmana for its wines.All the local
wines, the Morellino di Scansano included, come
from the Sangiovese variety of grape. These Sangiovese
producershave seen the extraordinary potential of
the area and the cooperativa strives for the highest
quality. The Maremma area has become more and more
interesting for new investments; today
some of the
great names of the Italian enologia open wine cellars
and plant vines in the wild earth of the butteri. |
