GUSTI Blog

Pianogrillo, a Symphony of an EV Olive Oil, Made by Lorenzo, the Nay Sayer

Whenever we describe Lorenzo Piccione's Pianogrillo oil, words such as balanced, elegant, round, complete... come to mind. A symphony of notes of tomato leaves and just cut grass! Is Lorenzo able to make such a wonderful oil because he is a pianist and a composer? I think so! Music was his full time occupation when, twenty years ago he decided to become more involved with the family's farm outside Ragusa, otherwise his elderly parents would have sold it. That would have been a crime. The property is beautiful, with the family house and chapel (above) on top of the hill of Chiaromonte Gulfi. So, Lorenzo learned everything about olive oil making, became a professional taster and applied his music sensibility to creating a masterpiece of an oil.

Pianogrillo EV Olive Oil is made with local Tonda Iblea olives (from the Iblei mountains near Ragusa) in his own mill on the property. He has approximately 9,000 trees, some as much as 700 years old! The harvest starts in early october through the end of november and is done exclusively by hand, without any electrical devise's help. Lorenzo is a purist and has seen it all. Disillusioned with the commercial market, he hates to sell and has developed a strong cynicism. In this, I feel like Lorenzo is Gustiamo's brother! We have been selling Pianogrillo EV Olive Oil for ten years, I visited his farms and met his lovely parents.

 Talking about cynicism:

- Lorenzo grows organic and has all the "organic" certifications, but he does not write "organic" on the label. Why? The supermarkets are full of "organic" crap.

- Lorenzo's Pianogrillo is DOP Monti Iblei and has all the "DOP" certifications, but he does not write "DOP" on the label. Why? the supermarkets are full of "DOP" crap.

- Lorenzo does not participate in "oil competitions". He says he no longer trusts them because the jury receives the oils from the producers (who can send their best, made only for the occasions). Instead, Lorenzo says (and we agree), the jury should buy the olive oils from the stores. Only then, the jury would be able to judge the oil the consumers buy, which is the whole point of the competition! It makes a lot of sense!

- points before notwithstanding, Lorenzo is very proud of being nominated "Best of Sicily 2011" by a group of food connoisseurs and journalists. He should be!

Bravo Lorenzo! We love your understatement; keep your integrity and you'll be our brother forever!

Lilly Gets It! We Hope You Do, Too!!!

This is the best gift Gustiamo received! It's a post by our young friend Lilly at Gustiamo's tasting last week at Il Cantuccio. You must read it!  We tasted the new harvest EV Olive Oils. Not only does Lilly write beautifully, with that young edge only a 20 year old girl can have (who would ever think of a better title than "Hanging out with Raja, Tonda and Gentile di Larino"), SHE GETS IT! She says it all and very clearly: what Gustiamo's tastings are; the new harvest of olive oils; the New York Times Calendar mentions our next one where you can win a free bottle; how to taste the oil; the olives that make the oils and where they come from. And all with fun and curiosity to learn more! Very impressive, isn't it? This is what we, at Gustiamo, do! We want you to get it!!! Grazie Lilly, this is a precious gift!

The Gomorrah Basket a.k.a. Long Life to Roberto Saviano.

Laura Caparrotti, formerly "only" a facebook friend, sent a message asking me to donate a basket for a fund raising.

We receive so many similar requests, we usually kindly decline. But Laura fund raising had a title that caught my attention. It was "Gomorrah". I immediately replied, Roberto Saviano's Gomorrah? Yes, she wrote. Anything you want, I replied.

So the "virtual" relationship changed to friendship, we donated the basket and went to the event. Held in a most beautiful loft in Soho, it was a reading of some passages from Roberto Saviano's book. Laura's Kit-Kairos theater is raising funds to bring Gomorrah to NY and US stages.

Our basket was "The Gomorrah Basket a.k.a. Long Life to Roberto Saviano",  dedicated to all the honest food artisans of Campania, who, with big sacrifice and hard work, resist temptation of easy profits; those who care about their land and their people. These producers are our heroes. 

Here is the list of what wasi ncluded in the basket and why:

- Pasta Faella from Gragnano. Mario Faella at 94 goes to work everyday in the pastificio in Piazza Roma, Gragnano, to make sure the new generations don't mess it up.

- Piennolo tomatoes from Mount Vesuvio. In Neapolitan, Piennolo, means "appeso" in Italian, "hanging" in English, because in the winter, in Naples, the tomatoes are stored in the home attics hanging from the ceiling, kind of like a prosciutto. The members of the camorra should hang, too.

- Il Miracolo di San Gennaro: tomatoes beyond DOP, 100% San Marzano genes DNA tested. We don't believe in miracles. But we would love one to get rid of the Camorra.

- Colatura, the anchovy sauce. Made in Cetara, on the Amalfi coast. It is a wonderful ingredient to enhance every dish. It is so strong, you use it by the drop. Torture for the camorra would be the whole bottle in one gulp.

- Walnut jam and concord grapes jam from Maida farm in Cilento, a few kilometers from Pollica (also in Cilento), where last September, the mayor, Angelo Vassallo, 57, was gunned dow by the camorra because he was a good man.

What else can we do??? Long life to Roberto Saviano. You and our farmers are our heros.

Why You Have Never Heard of Olive Oil from Molise, Before?

Francesco Travaglini is a young man married to Pia. Both sets of their  parents used to make olive oil, but they, like everybody else in Molise, would sell it for virtually nothing to commercial companies from other regions, who would make their profit by blending it with inferior oil. In fact, while Molise is an agricultural region covered with olive trees, have you ever heard of an olive oil from Molise before? Well, Francesco is very proud of his land; 10 years ago, he decided that enough was enough and he went solo to make his own oil.

With some money from his parents and his in laws, a small grant from the state (best money ever spent by the Italian Republic!), he started the farm. Il Tratturello was born. He called it Il Tratturello because his olive grove borders with a Tratturo, the green highway of the past, where cattle and sheep used to go from the mountains to the sea. Francesco's sheep still graze through the olive groves with a mutual benefit: the sheep eat the olives leaves and give the land their natural fertilizer in return. Il Tratturello is a spectacular EV Olive Oil, made with local Larino olives.

The new 2010 Harvest just arrived in the warehouse!!!

The bottles, which are individually numbered and boast a beautiful red wax seal, even indicate the harvest date, this year October 4 to November 10, 2010.

The olives were on the trees a few days ago. How much more fresh could an olive oil be?

Corrado Assenza Uses Only Authentic Sicilian Products

Almonds and pistachos in the market are grown mainly in Iran and California. They are cheap and tasteless (read here why). On the other hand, the Pistachos from Bronte and Almonds from Noto are the highest expression of these nuts. I'd never met Concetto Scardace, the almond farmer from Noto, before; he had no idea who I was. I asked him whether he knew Corrado Assenza of Caffe' Sicilia. His reply is in the video above (click on the arrow): does he know Corrado? His face opens in a beautiful smile and he starts his rant: He LOVES Corrado!!! Corrado is among the few producers who buy only the real thing, the authentic sicilian products. Corrado only deals with the producers, never looks at the prices and only wants the best real pistachos and almonds. Viva Corrado Assenza!!!

He is the acclaimed pastry chef, praised by best chefs all over the world and food authors in Italy and America. Read here what the Los Angeles Times said about Corrado's Nougats, the other day! After the interview with Concetto, I told Corrado was also in Torino, at the Salone del Gusto. It was like I told him The Almighty was there, too!!! Here, Corrado Assenza, happily standing with his good friends: Concetto Scardace (middle) and Giuseppe Carbone (right), both farmers and representatives of the Slow Food Presidium Almonds from Noto and Pistachos from Bronte. Grazie a tutti!

We Go Nuts for Pistachos from Bronte and Almonds from Noto

Pistachos from Bronte and Almonds from Noto are protected by Slow Food because they are in danger of extinction. They grow a few miles apart in southeast Sicily and production is very limited. To give you an idea, in California, the production of pistachos is 4 million tons per year, and in Iran it is 3.5 million tons. In Bronte, only 30,000 tons - almost nonexistent. Why do the farmers keep growing these species of nuts and why do the best chefs all over the world only want Pistachos from Bronte and Almonds from Noto? The answer is they are completely different from the commercial varieties. Below, Concetto Scardace, the young and passionate farmer/representative of Almonds from Noto's Slow Food Presidium shows his Almonds and tells us that the other "commercial" varieties of almonds are perhaps better looking but not as good. As Concetto says, they are "belle di faccia ma brutte di cuore". Above left, is Concetto with Claudio Urciuoli, our friend and great chef from Phoenix, AZ. Claudio, also, is a big fan of the real thing. You should try them and taste the difference, too!

Gustiamo's Pasta with Bottarga

Pasta con Bottarga is a very easy dish to make and it is very good for you since the ingredients, other than the pasta, are raw. We are often asked how we make Pasta with Bottarga. We, the experts! This is Gustiamo's official recipe. The condiment: in a bowl, in order of importance: bottarga finely sliced, ev olive oil, chopped parsley, lemon zest and lemon juice, capers, finely chopped garlic, finely chopped chili pepper. If you have time, make it the night before and refrigerate. Otherwise, not a problem. Cook the pasta, add the condiment and stir well. Serve! Anybody can do it and it is REALLY delicious!

The finished dish does not photograph well, as the bottarga looks like a flat small salame. Instead, above is a photo of the fish, the mullet, where the bottarga (which is its egg roe sac) comes from.

Gennaro Pecchia Is Our Man!!!

We always have grand ideas! Like this one - to give Bottle #1 of Il Tratturello to the new New York Governor, Andrew Cuomo (read here why). Easy to say. Now, how do we do it? You can't just send a bottle of olive oil to a governor -  it will not pass security and probably will end up in the trash bin. However, luck is on our side. At one of our tastings @ Il Cantuccio in NYC, we met a long time friend, Gennaro Pecchia. He is one of the kindest persons on earth. I still remember when, many years ago, on the closing day of our first Fancy Food Show, totally disorganized, loaded and exhausted, we were carrying our dismantled booth by hand. Gennaro saw us, took pity and volunteered to help. I will be grateful forever.

So, back to Tratturello #1, last week, I told Gennaro the story. Gennaro is friendly with Margaret and Matilda (Andrew Cuomo's sister and mother). In fact, he collaborated with them on their project, The Italian Language Foundation, which promotes the study of Italian and coordinates with the Republic of Italy on trips for teachers and professional development workshops. In addition, he knows the Governor personally since he is a member of NYC 5^th Avenue Columbus Day Parade Committee. Great!!! Will we all be invited to the Governor's mansion now? Shall we ask Francesco Travaglini to make a special trip? We'll see! In the meantime, grazie Gennaro!

The New Harvest's Best EV Olive Oils Have Arrived!!!

In record time!!!  The new harvest olive oils from Italy are in the warehouse! Evviva! We worked out the logistics with our producers to the second and were able to get the olive oils as soon as the bottles came out of the frantoi. To think that a couple of months ago, the olives were still on the trees... Were we good or what??? These new harvest 2010 olive oils will make a wonderful Holiday Gift! Surprise your friend/family/business associate with a new product they certainly do not have!!! They are:

- Pianogrillo, from Ragusa, Sicilia - monocultivar Tonda Iblea;

- Il Tratturello, from Piani di Larino, Molise - monocultivar Gentile di Larino;

- Cafaggio, from Siena, Toscana - frantoio, moraiolo, leccino olives;

- Cru di Cures, from Sabina, Lazio - frantoio, leccino, carboncella olives. Of this oil, the producer could only ship the 5 liters tin. Talk to Anne (718 860 2949), she might be able to sell one to you!

San Matteo Organic Farm - A Tasting @ Il Cantuccio NYC

Carlo Limone is the owner of San Matteo, an organic farm near Giarre, a little village outside Catania, in Sicily. He sells his products to the best chefs and hotels in Italy, including Hotel Victoria, in Torino, where Alice Waters (and I) always goes and has breakfast with his jams. Why? Because Carlo's preserves and marmalades are 100% artisanal, without any preservatives added and he uses wheat syrup, instead of sugar. Left is Carlo at the Salone del Gusto, last October, between Beatrice and Stefano. And below (click the arrow), he talks (in Italian, but you can understand him clearly) about his famous Sicilian orange and mandarin jams. If you come to Il Cantuccio NYC tonight, you can sample Carlo's sweet treasures with us. In English.