If you are a foodie on tour and are planning a vacation in Tuscany, particularly if you have found a villa in Carrara and especially if you like doughnuts, then you should definitely make a point of trying the local speciality, sgabeo. Tuscany boasts lots of incredible culinary delights, some of which we are all familiar with, but the serious food-lovers of the world will also ensure that they sample the less well-known delicacies from a region.
A sgabeo is a food that comes from the Lunigiana area, which is an Italian historical region that is divided between Liguria and Tuscany today. Made from leavened bread dough, it is cut into strips and then fried and salted. Traditionally, sgabei can be eaten plain or served stuffed with cheese or cold cuts. More and more frequently in recent years, however, there are also sweet varieties served throughout the region and are often filled with cream or chocolate.
Traditionally made to use up leftover dough when making bread and also often brought by farmers working the fields as their lunchtime snacks, sgabei have a long history in the region. Today, you will most likely encounter these guys as appetisers served in restaurants in the area or, even more commonly, if you attend a festival or celebration in a local village. There are also lots of variations with different names, traditions, and fillings, as well as similar dishes that can be found all over Tuscany and throughout northern and central Italy. But if you have found a vacation rental in Carrara and are exploring the culinary wonders of this magical part of the region on holiday in Tuscany, then be sure to keep an eye out for the sgabeo in particular and for it in all of its delicious iterations and flavours...
