Meet the food heroes of Florence.
As 2021 begins, thank you is due to the people who nourish us, belly and soul.
Farmer to the rescue: La Valle del Sasso
Flavio Giannetti, farmer and family man, of La Valle del Sasso
Nobody does customer service like Flavio Giannetti, a farmer and family man who cares as deeply about his carnivorous clients as he does his happy cows in the hills of Pontassieve. La Valle del Sasso is a working farm with an understanding of the zeitgeist, spinning IG and FB to the modern beat. Valle del Sasso: the discovery of 2020 for this meat lover, especially the summer morning spent at the fattoria.
How it works: Find out what’s available this fortnight on FB or the website and give our modern-day hero a call to place your order, which you can collect from Flavio every other Saturday at various points in Florence and south of the city.
Highlights: Succulent and flavourful, make sure you stock up on the pork sausages (11 euro / kilo) and beef mince (15 euro / kilo), and occasionally treat yourself to a duck: the best I’ve ever tasted. Hardcore carnivores should try the arduous tarticcia (18 euro / kilo), roughly chopped beef tartare shaped into a sausage.
Spice (and all things nice): Nura
Nura means light in the Aramaic language, which is exactly what this food truck and catering service turned home delivery brings. Plus, the most delicious Indian cooking I’ve enjoyed to date in the Florence area. Whenever the lockdown situation du jour becomes too much to bear, we order Nura’s soulful Kerala-inspired dishes caringly cooked by Basheer Kutty Mansoor and the clouds spirit away. Wife Marta takes proper care of the deliveries (all the packaging is environmentally friendly) always asking how we are and if we’re enjoying the food.
How it works: Head to nura.teloporta.it and select the dishes. Book your time slot, bearing in mind that Nura only cooks a certain amount every night to ensure quality, so it’s best to order a couple of days ahead. Pay using PayPal or cash on delivery.
Highlights: Lightly spiced, the samosas (6 euro for three) are low in oil, while cauliflower and potatoes embrace ginger in the aloo gobi (7 euro) and the dal fry (6 euro) lentils proved perfect for New Year’s Eve dotted with nigella seeds and curry leaves. Equally amazing are the chunks of tandoori chicken tikka (10 euro), marinated for hours in yoghurt and baked to perfection.
+Other Florence food deliveries enjoyed by our readers include:
Lentil flan with Livorno-inspired sauce from Le Tre Rane Ruffino
Ristorante Accademia, for its daily specials with an international twist.
Melaleuca, for the abundant holiday feasts
Osteria dell’Enoteca, for Saturday themed menus
Da Burde, for traditional Tuscan fare
Le Tre Rane Ruffino, for regional food in a contemporary key.
