A signature cacciucco at the restaurant La Miniera

Cacciucco is one of the most representative dishes of Tuscan seafood cuisine: a fish soup with a rough-hewn character, born as a recipe of necessity — based on unsold fish and less prized species — and over time turned into a symbol of Livorno and its coast. Surprisingly, some twenty kilometers from the Tyrrhenian Sea, amid the woods of a nature reserve, there’s a restaurant housed in a former mining station where a chef raised on the Livorno coast, with over twenty years in the restaurant business behind him, prepares his own version: the “cacciucchino di polpo,” a lighter reinterpretation of the traditional cacciucco alla livornese.

At La Miniera restaurant, tradition and innovation intertwine, blending signature flavors with culinary exploration: it’s precisely this balance that makes the menu — and the experience as a whole — a compelling reason to journey to Monterufoli.

Where to eat cacciucco in Tuscany: from Livorno to the inland countryside

Anyone wondering where to eat cacciucco in Tuscany can’t skip Livorno and its trattorias, where the dish is served according to tradition — with scorpionfish, octopus, cuttlefish and other rockfish cooked in tomato, enriched with garlic and chili, and accompanied by slices of toasted bread at the bottom of the plate.

The experience of a cacciucco lunch in Livorno remains not to be missed, but heading inland opens the door to an unfamiliar side of Tuscany, one that keeps an eye on the sea while being immersed in nature. Behind the Etruscan Coast — the stretch of Livorno coastline running down toward Piombino — lies an area rich in wooded hills, villages and dirt roads, spanning the provinces of Pisa, Livorno and Grosseto. Within just a few kilometers the landscape shifts from sea to countryside, bringing together different culinary traditions: on one side fish, on the other game, meats and garden vegetables.

It’s in this landscape, within the Monterufoli-Caselli Natural Park, that you’ll find la Tenuta di Monterufoli, owned by Tenute del Cerro. Here, the meeting of land and sea takes concrete shape in the dishes served at the restaurant.

The La Miniera restaurant in Monterufoli: cuisine of land and sea

The La Miniera restaurant is the restaurant of the Tenuta di Monterufoli, open both to guests of the agriturismo and to outside visitors. The menu brings land-based cuisine into dialogue with occasional seafood dishes tied to the chef’s own experience. Among the Tuscan classics on the menu are Chianina bistecca alla fiorentina, Chianina tagliata, wild boar, and pici. Alongside the main menu there are always the daily specials, which vary according to seasonality and the availability of ingredients.

 

From mining station to restaurant: the history of the La Miniera restaurant

The spaces that today house the dining room were once part of the old Monterufoli mining complex, active between the 19th and 20th centuries for the extraction of lignite and magnesite. Until 1929, this was the site of the railway station that transported material from the quarries. Today the interiors have been restored with a modern yet conservative design, one in which the site’s industrial history remains legible. Having lunch or dinner at the La Miniera restaurant thus means sitting inside a piece of Tuscan industrial archaeology: a setting that would justify the stop on its own, even before reading the menu.

 

Chef Gabriele Rosini’s philosophy: bold flavors, seasonality and zero-kilometer ingredients

The kitchen is led by chef Gabriele Rosini, whose culinary vision is clear: traditional dishes reinterpreted, few ingredients handled well, and excellent raw materials. No bland dishes — garlic and chili are there to enhance flavors, never to mask them — and no baroque constructions. The distinctive voice of his cooking is the balance between traditional recipes and creative reinterpretations, including vegetarian ones, with clean but well-calibrated flavors. Examples include the vegetarian carbonara with zucchini, asparagus and almonds, or the burrata with basil cream.

The menu changes throughout the year according to seasonality and availability, while some classics — from tagliata to bistecca alla fiorentina to wild boar dishes — remain fixed points on the menu. Anyone wanting to get closer to the chef’s cooking can do so: among the estate’s food experiences is also a cooking class with the chef.

The "cacciucchino di polpo": cacciucco alla livornese reinterpreted by the chef

Among the seafood preparations, one best captures the identity of this restaurant: the “cacciucchino di polpo,” the lighter — and rather unconventional — version of the traditional cacciucco alla livornese. It’s a dish shaped by Rosini’s culinary experience and adapted to his philosophy: few ingredients, essential flavors.

Classic cacciucco is a hearty, complex dish: it calls for several varieties of fish — rockfish, bottom-dwelling fish and shellfish — cooked for different lengths of time in a tomato sauce and served over garlic-rubbed bread. It’s a dish that demands lengthy preparation, since each ingredient must be added according to its own cooking time.

The “cacciucchino,” by contrast, focuses attention on octopus and cuttlefish, in a lighter reinterpretation. Here the shellfish become the stars of the dish, garlic is used sparingly, and chili adds intensity without overpowering the flavor of the fish. The result is the same burst of flavor typical of cacciucco alla livornese, in a more essential, modern form.

Which wines to pair with cacciucco

A signature cacciucco deserves a well-considered pairing. Among the wines of Tenute del Cerro, the recommended match is the Vermentino di Toscana IGT “Pian di Seta,” one of the estate’s best-known labels: a fresh, savory white with fruity and floral notes and hints of minerality. Vinified in steel, it retains enough freshness and breadth to accompany intensely flavored fish dishes. Its savory character pairs perfectly with the flavor of the octopus and cuttlefish, while its structure complements the dish’s aromatic notes. In 2024 it was awarded best white wine of Tuscany at the Mundus Vini Spring Tasting.

I vini possono essere degustati e acquistati direttamente alla Tenuta di Monterufoli, nel wine shop con sala degustazione o attraverso lo shop online di Tenute del Cerro, iscrivendosi.

Anyone who prefers red wine with cacciucco is not committing heresy. So says Tenute del Cerro’s winemaker Emanuele Nardi: a structured dish like cacciucco can also be paired with a red wine, provided it retains freshness and savoriness without overpowering the fish. The “Poggio Miniera” Val di Cornia Rosso DOCG, a single-varietal Sangiovese aged in oak — the wine that most evokes this territory’s mining origins — is an alternative to the Vermentino worth considering for a refined, unconventional pairing.

The wines can be tasted and purchased directly at the Tenuta di Monterufoli, in the wine shop with tasting room.

Lunch, dinner or an entire weekend at the Tenuta di Monterufoli

Cacciucco may be the reason for the trip to Monterufoli, but it’s unlikely to be the only thing you remember. The La Miniera restaurant is in fact part of a broader experience at the estate, one that brings together nature, history, wine and hospitality.

You can arrive in the morning and start the day with a hike through the natural park, along trails that cross cork oak woods, streams, stone bridges and remnants of the old mining railway. The network of dirt roads also lends itself to e-bike excursions, with bikes available for rent directly at the estate, as well as off-road tours through the vineyards and the sites tied to Monterufoli’s mining past.

After lunch, you can choose between a swim in the pool set amid greenery, a tasting at the wine shop, or simply the pleasure of slowing down in one of the most secluded, quiet corners of Tuscany. The estate is pet-friendly, welcoming guests traveling with their dogs.

For those who want to extend their stay, the agriturismo offers rooms and apartments set within the estate’s historic buildings — La Miniera, the Scuderie and the Casa delle Guardie — overlooking the valley. Dining at the restaurant and waking up in the silence of the reserve brings together all the elements that make Monterufoli such a distinctive place: the woods, the old mines, the vineyards and the closeness to the sea. It’s also a chance to discover how cuisine and territory can meet in an authentic, surprising way — perhaps through a dish that symbolizes Tuscan seafood cooking like cacciucco.