Believe me, the local cuisine has something to surprise you. So, what to try in Florence?
You can start with the soups to get acquainted with the local dishes. For example, try ribolitta, a vegetable soup that is very popular in Florence. It consists of beans, cabbage, carrots and other vegetables (there are different variations of the recipe). This soup is commonly eaten with a crust of withered bread. Another first dish is onion soup, which is made from beans, peas, onions, brisket, and sheep cheese.
If you want a light dinner, order the panzanella salad. Its main ingredients are tomatoes, onions, olive oil, black pepper, basil and slices of bread soaked in water and vinegar and then squeezed.
Another well-known local dish is lampredotto. It is a boiled cow's stomach cut into pieces and boiled with a variety of vegetables. It is served either as a separate dish with pesto sauce or used as a panini filling, and then you get local fast food, which you can buy from moving carts.
When in Florence, be sure to try bistecca alla fiorentina (Florentine style steak). It is cooked from the meat of young steers, which is grilled on the coals without any seasoning (it is added afterwards) so that under the top crust it is only slightly dried.
Do you want to try a dish with a history? Try il pollo al finocchio, mentioned in the cookbooks of the 14th century. It's chicken roasted with fennel leaves.
Another culinary greeting from the depths of time is cibreo. It is scrambled eggs with meat broth, sage, onions, rooster scallops, chicken livers and hearts. It is said that Catherine de Medici adored this dish.
There are many fish lovers in Florence, too. Try the baccala alla fiorentina. It's codfish jerky in tomato sauce. Locals say the taste is simply divine.
