Hunter festival

Easter, Game

Original name: Sagra del Cacciatore

Place: Certaldo, in Florence province, Val d'Elsa area

First year of the festival: 2016

Period: end of March, April

2023 scheduled on: April, 7-8-9-10, 14-15-16, 21-22-23-24-25

Opening times: open for dinner from 8 pm, Sunday 16 and 23, on Easter Monday and on April 25 also for lunch from 12:00; Sunday 9 April, Easter day, only for lunch with reservation - Indoor and heated area

Local Specialities:

• Appetizers : salumi misti toscani con crostini, Tuscan cold cuts and crostini
• First courses: tagliatelle alla lepre, tagliatelle pasta with hare sauce; pappardelle al cinghiale, pappardelle pasta with wild boar sauce; polenta al cinghiale, polenta with wild boar sauce
• Second courses: lepre in salmì, hare stew with black olives; cinghiale in salmì, wild boar stew with black olives; coniglio fritto, fried rabbit; grigliata mista, mixed grilled meat; filetto di cinghiale al forno con patate, wild boar fillet steak with roasted potatoes
• Side dish: carciofi fritti, fried artichokes
• Dessert: cantuccini e vin santo, cantuccini biscuits with vin santo dessert wine

Organized and managed by true local hunters, which will serve you at the tables as volunteers, this "sagra del cacciatore" brings you inside a compendium of Tuscan game dishes - sort of. Sure there is the "king" of game sagras in Tuscany, the wild boar: classic recipes as pappardelle with wild boar sauce, always welcome; polenta with wild boar sauce, a great staple of ancient peasants; a rich wild boar stew, miraculously tender and perfect as well; a tasty wild boar filetto, a rarity and absolutely to suggest. But you'll face a big problem of choice here, because the menu offers two more than rare, unobtainable special dishes, with hare: once upon a time rather common, now way less hunted and cooked - so we are sure you won't miss either the tagliatelle pasta with hare sauce, and the hare stew! All these ancient recipes carefully prepared, and great as they can be.

About wines: you can choose even two DOCG (controlled and guaranteed designation of origin) wines, a red Chianti and a white Vernaccia di San Gimignano, from the menu; but we personally had the delicious, simple "rosso toscano", red Tuscan wine, which was just perfect to go with the meat triumph of this dinner.