Tonno del Chianti

01 / ABOUT THE DISH

About the dish

If it's called tonno, looks like tuna, and tastes like tuna, it must be tuna. Wrong! You won't find this old Tuscan dish in the fish section of restaurant menus because it's actually made with pork leg or loin. Tonno del Chianti originated as a dish that was prepared in order to use all of the pig meat and then store it for later. It is believed that the dish was invented by Dario Cecchini, a butcher from Panzano in Chianti, who first prepared it with suckling pigs that he would cook in white wine with aromatics, then preserve the meat in a glass jar which was filled with Tuscan olive oil. Apart from the pork, the dish is made with white wine, peppercorns, juniper berries, rock salt, bay leaves, black pepper, and olive oil. Once the lids have been closed, the dish is refrigerated for up to one month, then served, usually with slices of Tuscan Certaldo onions and fagioli sgranati , just like real tuna.