The original cowboys were Italian! Oh yes they were! The Butteri of southern Tuscany have been an intrinsic part of the Maremma area for centuries, riding and roping long-horned cattle on horseback. Maybe that explains, in part, why Italians have always been intrigued with the American West.
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, recognized as one of the top ten films of all time, was an Italian-made Western, emblematic of the widely popular genre of movies directed by Italian, Sergio Leone, in the 1960s and 70s that were ultimately dubbed “Spaghetti Westerns.” They were a stark depiction of the Old West, featuring characters who possessed both heroic and villainous traits, the most prominent being “The Man with No Name” portrayed by Clint Eastwood.
This week’s menu is inspired by simple, straight-forward foods that could have been eaten in the marshes of Maremma or on the Plains of the American West.