{"id":7379,"date":"2019-11-20T18:57:58","date_gmt":"2019-11-21T01:57:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/villasentieri.com\/?post_type=recipe&p=7379"},"modified":"2026-09-02T10:58:39","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T17:58:39","slug":"spiedini","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/villasentieri.com\/index.php\/2019\/11\/20\/spiedini\/","title":{"rendered":"Spiedini (Italian Skewered Meat and Vegetables)"},"content":{"rendered":"

November 20, 2019<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Spiedini means skewers.\u00a0 By extension it also refers to food cooked on skewers.<\/p>\n

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Zia Fidalma’s spiedini ready to be served. The extra cut-up vegetables were roasted along with the spiedini.<\/span><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There is evidence that humans cooked food on skewers as far back as 300,000 years ago in an area that is encompassed by present-day Germany.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an ancient cooking method.\u00a0 So, it\u2019s not surprising that food cooked on skewers is found almost everywhere.<\/p>\n

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Zia Fidalma cutting sausage for spiedini at her home in Benabbio.<\/span><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

During my month of cooking in Tuscany with Zia Fidalma this past August, spiedini were on the lesson plan.<\/p>\n

But first, there was the shopping.\u00a0 Onions and peppers came from the weekly market in Bagni di Lucca.\u00a0 Pork and sausage came from her favorite local butcher.\u00a0 Pancetta tesa came from yet another vendor.\u00a0 The pantry staples, including olive oil from her own olive grove, were on the ready at home.<\/p>\n

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The sausage that Zia Fidalma used is Salsiccia Toscana, Tuscan Sausage.\u00a0 It does NOT have fennel seed.\u00a0 What it DOES have appeared to be a mystery, at least temporarily.<\/p>\n

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Pancetta Tesa produced in the Garfagnana area of Tuscany.<\/span><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Butchers in Italy who make it say they don\u2019t know because they buy the spice mix from a company.\u00a0 Whether or not this is completely true is also unknown, to me at least.\u00a0 Requests from friends and family in Tuscany also came up empty-handed.<\/p>\n

A Google search, in Italian, turned up more useful information.\u00a0 As expected, there is a range of ingredients.\u00a0 Every recipe has salt and pepper.\u00a0 Most have garlic (minced, chopped, or in one recipe, rubbed on one\u2019s hands before one mixes the sausage!).\u00a0 Many have a bit of wine, both white and red are called for.\u00a0 I found one recipe that indicated that finely minced sage could be added if desired but NOT fennel!<\/p>\n

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Ingredients ready to be skewered in Zia Fidalma’s kitchen.<\/span><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

So, basically, Tuscan sausage is very sparingly flavored with salt, pepper, garlic and maybe a bit of wine.<\/p>\n

For a traditional Tuscan taste for these spiedini, purchase (or make) an \u201cItalian\u201d sausage without fennel and without red pepper or paprika.\u00a0 (Note, there is no such thing as \u201cItalian\u201d sausage in Italy.\u00a0 Like most foods in Italy, sausage is hyper-local and varies from region to region, province to province, and often town to town.)<\/p>\n

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Zia Fidalma’s spiedini ready to be cooked.<\/span><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Nobody is going to complain, however, if you use sausage with fennel seed as I had to do when I was unable to find sausage without fennel after trying four markets in Santa Fe.<\/p>\n

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Pancetta tesa (sometimes called pancetta stesa) may be more difficult to find than the correct sausage, however.\u00a0 Pancetta tesa is flat, not rolled.\u00a0 It is better to use for spiedini because it is easier to cut into shapes that facilitate skewering.<\/p>\n

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On the same day that I made spiedini with Zia Fidalma, we looked at a house for sale in her village. I’m still smitten by the house and the views and the idea of spending summers there!<\/span><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While you might spend 30 to 45 minutes cutting up the meat and vegetables and threading them on a skewer, the cooking process is easy.\u00a0 Feel free to experiment with the herbs, but I\u2019ve called for the herbs that are most commonly used in Tuscan cooking.

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Spiedini (Italian Skewered Meat and Vegetables)<\/h2>\n
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If you want a more elegant look, take the time to cut the ingredients to the same size, approximately 1-inch squares. For a more homestyle appearance, as shown in the pictures, some variability is fine as long as none of the pieces is extremely large or small. The exact sequence of how to skewer ingredients is up to you but I have provided a suggestion that worked well with the quantity of ingredients I had.<\/div>\n
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Prep Time <\/span>45 minutes<\/span><\/span> mins<\/span><\/span><\/div>
Cook Time <\/span>30 minutes<\/span><\/span> mins<\/span><\/span><\/div>
Total Time <\/span>1 hour<\/span><\/span> hr<\/span> 15 minutes<\/span><\/span> mins<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/div>\n
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Servings: <\/span>6<\/span> people<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Ingredients
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