Autumn
Scottiglia di Cinghiale
Tuscan Wild Boar Stew
In Tuscany towards the autumn, you will invariably find this dish on the menu in local trattorie, eaten simply with bread as a main course. Scottiglia is a very comforting wild boar stew. In fact, Tuscans love it so much that in season they freeze parts of the animal so that they can make this stew later in the year-and Italians do not tend to freeze meat very much. Depending on the age of the boar, it can take some time to tenderise the meat, but a scottiglia is always cooked slowly to avoid toughening the meat. This type of stew can be made with other, more tender parts of the animal, but reduce the cooking time accordingly.
Tagliatelle con Tartufi
Tagliatelle with White Truffles
One of the most popular and sought-after dishes in Alba is freshly made tagliatelle with white truffle, a combination of simple pasta with the sophisticated, rich taste of the truffle. Truffles are found from October through to the end of January in the district of Piedmont. They are highly prized - and highly priced.
Tagliolini con Burro al Tartufo
Pasta with Truffle Butter
I was brought up with truffles, not because my family was rich but because my father was a friend of a trifolau, someone who searches with their dogs for the precious fungus (I now have my own, the very special Sandrino, in Asti). When, rarely, we had a truffle, my mother would make a fresh egg tagliolini, the thinnest type of flat tagliatelle. This recipe approximates the taste of the dish, without reflecting its hefty price tag!
Tortelli di Zucca
Pumpkin Ravioli
For some reason, ravioli are called tortelli in Emilia-Romagna and parts of lower Lombardy. The most famous are those of Cremona, and there are many variations in the fillings. Here, though, is the most classic recipe. It is a typical Christmas dish, but people love it throughout the whole winter when the wonderfully thick-fleshed, orange-red pumpkin, which can also be bought in pieces, is available.
Wild Mushrooms Crostini
This Italian dish is extremely popular because of its versatility: it can be served as a snack or antipasto, or with drinks. Crostini can be topped with chicken liver pate, a mixture of tomato, mozzarella and basil, or grilled vegetables. This version using wild mushrooms is exceptionally good-even if you can't get hold of any wild mushrooms and have to use cultivated instead.