Zibibbo, Florence/by Shelley Lance
Our lunch at Zibibbo Trattoria, located in Careggi, a suburb of Florence, was one of my very favorite meals in Tuscany. (Take the 14C bus from Florence, or take a cab.) The chef-owner, Benedetta Vitali, (photo top right) along with her (now) ex-husband, helped start the famous Cibreo restaurant (more about Cibreo in another post), and she was also the pastry chef there. Years later, Benedetta left Cibreo to start her own restaurant, Zibibbo, where she also teaches cooking classes.
The lovely dining room (photo top left), with red velvet chairs and white tablecloths, is relaxed and elegant, and decorated with modern paintings of Tuscan landscapes. Sunlight streams into the room through a sky light and wine racks line the walls.
Benedetta herself came out of the kitchen to our table to explain the menu to us. Her menu is slightly unusual- both because she features a number of fish dishes (meat predominates in most Florentine restaurants) and because of the many Sicilian influences.
Paté di fegatini, or liver pate, is a standard on Tuscan menus. Benedetta’s version was suavely smooth and served with toasted brioche instead of toasted Tuscan bread. The excellent port-orange marmalade really lifted this dish out of the ordinary. Another delicious starter was a slice of fried scamorza cheese with tomatoes and bread.
The photo (center left) doesn’t do it justice, but my plate of tagliatelle agli asparagi con fonduta di Parmigiano (tagliatelle with asparagus and Parmesan fondue) was one of the best dishes of the whole trip. The tagliatelle itself was beautifully made, golden with egg yolk, and perfectly cooked- with a nice texture, almost bouncy- and of course the pasta itself was the most important thing on the plate. The rich but light tasting sauce was infused with the essence of asparagus (I assume that a very smooth asparagus puree was added to the cream and Parmesan to make the fonduta, in addition to the asparagus tips that were tossed with the pasta). Every flavor in this pasta dish- asparagus, cream, Parmesan- seemed essential to the dish. Nothing could be taken away and nothing needed to be added.
I also enjoyed Benedetta’s version of a Sicilian classic- involtini di pesce spada- (photo bottom left) pounded pieces of swordfish rolled around onion marmalade and served with a tart, tangy salad of tomatoes and beautiful large capers.
With the meal, we drank a 2007 Vermentino Bolgheri and a 2007 Dolcetto d’Alba.
For dessert, what the chef described to us in English as “cheesecake” was actually a mascarpone pastry cream tart with a great cookie crust and a lovely orange marmalade on top (photo bottom right.)
It makes sense to me that Benedetta started as a pastry chef. Her cooking is delicate, nuanced, and balanced, and her marmalades and confitures really shine.
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