Fill in the blank....

The Chianina is one of the oldest breeds of cattle in the world. A famous Italian breed that has been reared in Tuscany, Umbria and Lazio for 2,200 years....wow...Bulls can weigh in excess of 1600 kilos and as they are bred mainly for beef so it was a shame not to sample rather a large lump of the stuff.

Purchased yesterday from Claudio's, a faboulous local shop, cum deli-cum butchery-cum fruitery-cum-bakery-cum-off-licence.....(well you get the idea, it sells everything!)...any shop that has dozens of massive hams hanging up when you go in and smells of fresh bread is a winner in my book, and this one is ten minutes up the road towards Cortona. The owner, who is also the butcher, has his own farm in the next village, Montella, where he also farms the Chianina cattle.

A favourite of Tuscan cuisine, the 'Bistecca alla Fiorentina' is a 'T' bone, grilled over a wood fire, seasoned with only pepper and olive oil after cooking and served rare, accompanied obviously by a bold, local Tuscan red.....so we'll have to give it a try, eh?

I refuse adamantly to photograph plates of food so this is the best I can do here....you will have to 'fill in the blank'...

'Fill in the blank' is the title track off the 2016 album 'Teens of Denial' by US Indie band 'Car Seat Headrest' -  first attracted to this scratchy guitar track following hearing it on 6Music...you won't be disappointed here!

https://youtu.be/s_a1hPwXiWw

Sent wi' th'ipad