Italian Main Courses (Secondi)
The secondo follows the pasta or soup in an Italian meal. In Tuscany it is often meat roasted or slowly braised with wine, garlic and herbs from the garden, served with a vegetable side dish.
These are the main courses we cook with guests at our cooking school near Certaldo: arista roast pork with rosemary and fennel seeds, chicken cacciatora with olives and orange, stracotto beef braised in red wine, chicken involtini, polpettone and salt cod in tomato sauce, plus vegetarian mains such as eggplant parmigiana, stuffed artichokes and torta salata.
Turkey breast roll stuffed with herbs and grapes, cooked in milk
This is our family dish which has been passed down through the generations and adapted a little. A butterflied turkey breast is stuffed with herbs and grapes, rolled up and tied and cooked in milk.
Calamari ripieni: Italian stuffed squid in white wine and tomato sauce
Cleaning whole squid can look daunting the first time, but it’s easier than it seems, and fresh calamari are well worth it. Here the tubes are filled with garlic, parsley, olives and breadcrumbs, then simmered in white wine and tomato until tender. A coastal Italian classic, with step-by-step photos.
Guinea fowl with walnuts and grapes: a Tuscan harvest recipe
This is a great dish for the autumn, with the nuts adding texture and the just-harvested grapes adding a smooth sweetness.
Tuscan pork stew with white wine, sage and rosemary
The white wine, stock and slow cooking make the pieces of pork really melt in your mouth.
Polpettone: Tuscan meatloaf with vegetables, in tomato sauce
This dish is colourful, moist, flavoursome and very comforting.
Vegetable sformato: an easy Italian soufflé-like flan
Italian soufflés are more rustic and forgiving than their French cousins. They do not have to be eaten when just risen.In fact they are easier to cut and serve when they have cooled down a little.
Chicken involtini: stuffed chicken or turkey rolls in white wine
Chicken or turkey breast fillets are filled, rolled up and cooked to make a succulent, interesting dish.
Tuscan herb-crusted roast beef cooked on the stovetop with Vin Santo
Tuscan herb-crusted roast beef, cooked on the stovetop with rosemary, sage, and Vin Santo. Tender, thinly sliced beef with fragrant, herby pan juices.
Stuffed round zucchini with seitan, garlic and parsley
This recipe looks particularly good made with the cute round zucchini, but is equally tasty made with the long variety. Remember to be careful to reduce cooking times if your zucchini are small.
Baccalà alla livornese: salt cod in tomato sauce, Livorno style
This is the classic way to prepare salted cod, but you can use any firm-fleshed fresh white fish.
Stracotto: Tuscan slow-cooked beef in red wine
The vegetables in this slow cooked dish produce a velvety-textured sauce which goes perfectly with the tender meat.
Eggplant parmigiana with grilled eggplant
This Italian restaurant classic is a little time-consuming (the grilled eggplant takes a while) but your guests will tell you that it is well worth all the effort.
Arista: Tuscan roast pork loin with rosemary, sage and fennel
this is one of the classic tuscan roast meat dishes, herby and succulent.
Tuscan chicken cacciatora with red wine, olives and orange
Tuscan hunter’s-style chicken, slow-cooked in red wine with herbs, vegetables, black olives, and a hint of orange.
Carciofi ripieni: stuffed artichokes with seitan, garlic and parsley
You can use the filling here to fill other vegetables, such as peppers, zucchini etc.
Torta salata: an Italian vegetable quiche for using up leftovers
Use what you have around! Italians love quiches and love using all sorts of leftovers in them. A classic is sautéd spinach with plenty of nutmeg.
Fennel gratin with Parmesan and fennel seeds
A simple yet delicious way to prepare this nutritious and aromatic vegetable.
Tuscan cardoons in tomato sauce (gobbi al pomodoro)
Cardoon grows everywhere and is from the same family as the artichoke and as well as being nutritious (plenty of potassium, calcium and iron) is incredibly tasty.