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A super-thick, juicy T-bone steak, best cut from snowy white Chiana cattle, simply brushed with olive oil and cracked pepper and grilled (medium-rare) over a wood fire. (A different cut is being used during the BSE scare.)

Small roundels of bread, toasted, brushed with olive oil, and garnished with a number of toppings. The most popular toppings are cubed tomatoes, or fegatini , a chunky fresh pâté of chicken livers, capers, onions and a bit of anchovy.

The king of Tuscan soups: a rich, wintery vegetable minestrone thickened to a stew by soaking stale bread in it overnight, re-boiling it the next day (hence the name, ri-bollita ), pouring it over new slices of bread and liberally drizzling with fresh olive oil. The ingredients vary with whatever grandma’s recipe was, but always includes at least cannellini beans and cavolo nero (a relative of chard), plus vegetables and herbs.

Pappardelle are Tuscany’s extremely wide noodles, yellow ribbons of pasta usually folded around a sauce made from cinghiale (wild boar) stewed so long it falls apart. Wild boar is freshest in autumn, during the hunting season, and is also often prepared as a main course, stewed in red wine.

Tuscans are nicknamed mangiafagioli , bean-eaters, because of their love of the white cannellini beans. Cooked al dente (to a hard bite) like pasta, the beans are sometimes served simply dressed in fresh olive oil and cracked black pepper, but the best preparation is all’uccelleto , stewed with fresh tomatoes, sage, garlic cloves, olive oil and pepper.

Florence makes tripe tolerable by dicing it up and stewing it with tomatoes, sage and parmigiano cheese. You will also find carts that serve tripe sandwiches.

Livorno’s version of bouillabaisse meets pappa al pomodoro : a thin, pepperoncino - spiked tomato gruel poured over stale bread slices and a stew rich in fish and seafood. The exact recipe varies with the day’s market and chef’s whim, but usually finds a way of incorporating some tentacles.

Fat, chewy, misshapen home-made spaghetti – appicicare means to roll between the hands – made from only flour and water, served mainly in the hill towns south of Siena, usually in a tomato sauce.

Italy’s finest, tastiest sheep’s milk cheese was perfected by the shepherds of Pienza. It comes in various states, from soft (non-stagionato and marzolino ) to harder and sharper (semi-stagionato and the full stagionato ). It is sometimes preserved under ash, or wrapped in grape leaves, or dusted with pepperoncino . The harder types are good with red wine or grated over pasta.

A summertime salad of stale bread soaked in water and vinegar and topped with diced tomatoes, onions, basil and olive oil.