GUSTI Blog

Pomodorini - Another Miracle!

From Sabatino Abagnale, expert and passionate producer of our Miracle di San Gennaro Tomatoes comes our latest tomato find: Pomodorini di Gragnano. Grown in small numbers on the Mount Lattari Park, in the Vesuvius area, the Gragnano ecotype is a small light bulb shaped tomato, sort of a mini San Marzano. The scant water, abundant sun and arid temperatures of this area of the South of Italy lend this prized tomato very low acidity, exceptional sweetness and a rich pulp. Flash cook Pomodorini di Gragnano - 3 minutes will do - to release their fruity, mineral taste

A Miracle - San Marzano Tomatoes Beyond DOP

Il Miracolo di San Gennaro is a tomato grown by Sabatino Abagnale in Agro Sarnese-Nocerino (the proper DOP Area). It is DNA tested 100% San Marzano, and a wonderful product.

Sabatino's production of Il Miracolo is very limited, a few thousand tins and jars per year! These Miracolo have reached a cult status and despite its price (very expensive... don't even start!), they go very fast. Our yearly allotment which we receive in November is typically sold out by early in the new year. Sabatino, can you send us more?

That being said, while Sabatino is a passionate and honest grower of tomatoes, his tomatoes do not perfectly follow the DOP rules and he cannot call them San Marzano. AND he DOES NOT call them San Marzano. As you see on the left, they are called just "Pomodori". Why? In a second. First, let me reinforce the concept that a name is important and although his tomatoes are San Marzano, he cannot and does not make any reference to San Marzano in the label. Does this send a signal to the industrial producer  of tomatoes that are labeled San Marzano but are FAKE?

Why Sabatino's tomatoes are not San Marzano? Because Italians have big egos and can't agree on anything! Sabatino cannot label his tomatoes San Marzano because he does not fully follow the rules dictated by the Consorzio San Marzano. Although Sabatino and the President of Consortium San Marzano only have praises for each other (true, I talk to them regularly), they can't seem to agree on several things: the type of seeds used (Cirio 3 for DOP, Smec 20 for Sabatino); Sabatino's tomatoes are not peeled (DOP must be peeled)... and who knows how many other little differences. This is one more demonstration that Italians can't work together; even good people (and we are talking about the BEST people in this industry) can't reach an agreement.

Confusing? You bet! The point is Sabatino makes his non San Marzano/beyond San Marzano tomatoes his way and doesn't try to take advantage of the San Marzano name. And they are so few, it's not even an issue. Trust us, they are a Miracle! Buy 'em before we run out!

From Camille - A Culinary Adventure with Gustiamo - Terra Amore & Fantasia Tomatoes

Sergio’s hospitality didn’t end with Faella – he also made sure that I had the best meal of my life! After visiting the pastificio, we drove through the surrounding towns to Santa Maria La Carita' where Sergio dropped me off at Sabatino of Terra Amore & Fantasia tomatoes’ home, where a Slow Foods meeting was in progress. As the meeting ended, notepads were whisked away and the table was set for the 7 course meal that was to come. I joined the others at the table and stared in amazement as course after course was placed in front of me. My favorite by far was the lasagna made with artichokes rather than pasta, smothered in sauce made from Sabatino’s amazing tomatoes. I could have just eaten a vat of the sauce and been very, very happy!

The meal centered around the carciofo violetto di Castellammare, a beautiful, red colored artichoke specific to the region. After I had eaten so much I couldn’t have swallowed another bite, Sabatino took me to his artichoke and tomato fields, set against a backdrop of rolling mountaintops. Although tomatoes aren’t in season so only artichokes were growing at the moment, Sabatino explained that he follows time-tested methods of alternating fields to ensure that his crops are grown sustainably with constant soil regeneration. He truly cares about the land and his product, and it shows!

I can’t thank Sergio and Sabatino enough for showing me their amazing products. I can only expect that Gustiamo’s producers I have yet to visit will be just as welcoming. There are many more amazing meals to come!

From Camille - A Culinary Adventure with Gustiamo - Legendary Pasta Faella from Gragnano soon @ Gustiamo

Gustiamo proudly announces: Pasta Faella will soon be in our warehouse!!! Camille pays a visit to the historic pastificio in Gragnano and writes her lovely journal, below.

I’ve been looking forward to visiting Faella, a pastificio located in Gragnano, a historical center of pasta production, for a month now. So when Sergio came by the hostel Sunday morning at 9 am to pick me up, I couldn’t believe I was actually on my way! Luckily, being a Sunday, the roads were relatively clear and we made it to Gragnano from Napoli in about 30 minutes. Along the way Sergio pointed out Mount Vesuvius, Capri, and the Sorrento coast. We wound through the tiny streets of the surrounding communities, including his hometown, Castellammare, before beginning the descent into Gragnano through the Valle dei Mulini (above), a ravine that makes Gragnano perfectly suited for pasta production (Gragnano was the first center of pasta production in mainland Italy, and Faella has been around for a century . Today, there are only 8 or 9 pastifici left in Gragnano, but Faella is committed to offering the same quality of pasta they always have – this is pasta with a history, something we don’t see much of in the U.S.).

Because Gragnano is at the base of the valley, between the mountains and the sea, a strong wind blows through the valley and the tiny, curving streets of the town, where the pastificio of old used to grind their semolina grain to flour and dry their pasta. Via Roma (left) is the most famous of these streets, and 50 or 60 years ago it was lined with hanging pasta. Today, due to government restrictions on hygiene, you won’t see any pasta on the street. But Gragnano still has the advantage: the water from the nearby mountains is still used and the climate of the town is well suited for pasta production.

Sergio explained the difference that the temperature makes: industrial pasta is dried at temperatures around 100 degrees Celsius (212 degrees Fahrenheit), whereas Faella dries it pasta at around 48-50 degrees (118-122 Fahrenheit). Because the temperature is so much lower, it takes a lot longer to complete the production process: around two days start to finish, and the drying can take anywhere from 20 to 50 hours depending on the length and thickness of the pasta. But the extra time is worth it – have you noticed that when you pour a box or bag of mass-produced pasta into boiling water, the first smell you get is one of the packaging it came in? (very cardboard or plastic-esque). Pasta dried at lower temperatures keeps the taste and smell of its semolina much better than pasta dried at hotter temperatures. You’ll have to try it to experience the difference!

Faella is every bit “artigianale” - while they have several machines (mostly to mix the semolina with water to form the dough), they also do a lot of the work by hand. The pastificio produces around 2,000 kilo (around 4,400 pounds) of pasta per day with around 7 employees, so while small-scale, they really invest the time and effort necessary to make the best product possible. They use trafila al bronzo (bronze plates) which gives the pasta its rough texture and they make around 40 different shapes of pasta, corte (short) and lunghe (long), many of which I’ve never before seen or heard of.

Since I know how hard it is to find anything other than industrially produced pasta in the U.S., and now that I understand the difference with artisanal pasta, I’m really looking forward to having Faella’s pasta available through Gustiamo!

Sergio’s tour of Gragnano and his pastificio was unforgettable, but that’s not even the end of my day – there’s an 7 course meal to tell you about and a visit with Sabatino of Terra Amore & Fantasia! To be continued...

Camille Frazier

Terra Amore e Fantasia Tomatoes - now also in small tins of 400gr

Terra Amore e Fantasia are peeled tomatoes from an ancient variety local to Puglia. A selection by our friend Sabatino Abagnale. They are the "new" tomatoes, those harvested in the late summer of 2009. The freshest batch!

This year, in addition to the 800 gr classic tin, we have the 400gr tin, a lovely size (left) perfect for smaller families, couples and singles.

These tomatoes' taste is mineral and rich and gradually develops on the palate with delicious sweetness and notes of basil, although what you'll find in the tin are simply bright, juicy, pure tomatoes in their own juice, rivaling the taste of the best tomatoes in the world.

Sabatino's recipe for pasta al pomodoro is very simple:  saute a couple cloves of garlic in ev olive oil until garlic becomes gold (add some peperoncino if you wish) - remove garlic (and peperoncino) - add the tomatoes and cook for five minutes. Add the drained pasta, and you are done! When I asked, would you grate some chese on it?, he started to make faces. He wants purity all the way.

Berta Chateau Restaurant in New Jersey

Peter (Pietro) Bernstein is the owner and chef at Berta Chateau in New Jersey and a customer of Gustiamo since 2006. We always talked on the phone and I appreciated Pietro's desire to learn more about Italian artisanal products. We finally met in person when he came to the warehouse to pick up his order of pasta Latini and Terra Amore e Fantasia peeled tomatoes. We loved to meeting each other . Watch the video below (click on the arrow on the picture) and listen to Pietro describing his restaurant and his favorite dishes on the menu. His exhuberance is catching; in fact, I can't wait to go (just checked for driving directions on google map and it would only take 45 minutes from the city) and taste his spaghetti all'amatriciana, the sauce with tomatoes and guanciale.  In the video, Pietro talks so enphatically about the guanciale made by Marc Buzzio, of Salumeria Biellese (I have heard of Marc and his great products many many times) that I can't wait to meet Marc, too.

A Star Is Born - Co. Company Pizzeria

  I know a thing or two about good pizza. First, I was born in Napoli, then my home base in Roma is literally almost next door to the most incredible pizzeria outside Campania. The Romans call it  "l'Obitorio"  (the morgue, because of its white marble tables), but its official name on the sign outside and in the telephone book, is Panattoni.

Last night, with my usual skepticism and of course, knowing it all, Gustiamo and friends went to Co. Pizzeria in Chelsea, where the master pizzaiolo is Jim Lahey, of Sullivan Street Bakery and of global fame for having taught Americans (and me) to make bread at home. Let me tell you, the pizza is fantastic, and I am not saying this because I want to be an ass kisser (read below). The crust is thin and perfectly charred, the dough fragrant. Just delicious, you must go.  

Before we left, we asked to see Jim. Here, with his friend Kate Krader of Food & Wine Magazine and me. We told Jim how impressed we were by the quality and the excecution of the pizza. We gave him a tin of tomatoes Terra Amore e Fantasia, which we just happened to have in our bag. Now, wasn't THAT an amazing coincidence? Who knows, will we have soon the Pizza Fantasia on the Co. menu? 

100% san marzano

Sabatino Abagnale grows San Marzano tomatoes. But not any kind of tomato. He grows Miracles. He uses his own seeds Smec 20 and makes 2.5 kilos of tomatoes per plant. For you to understand the difference, you must know that everybody else uses the commercial and more prolific C3 seeds which produces 10 kilos of tomatoes per plant, with much tougher skin and easier to work with machines. When harvest time comes, end of august and september, Sabatino personally goes and hand picks his perfectly riped tomatoes once a week.

Now, the cherry on the cake: Sabatino just informed us his Miracolo received the results of the DNA test: 100% san marzano genes!!! No other san marzano tomato can claim such a pedigree. Bravo Sabatino!

The City Cooks - Tomato Miracles

 

Today, on Kate's The City Cook: "Just as I was wondering what might snap me out of my cooking doldrums I received a package from Beatrice and Martina at Gustiamo, a Bronx-based food wholesaler that also sells retail on-line. These women are warm and engaging in the way that when you meet them you want them to always be your friends. And they are passionate about their work, bringing artisanal Italian foods to the U.S. I opened the small box to find a jar and a tin, each containing Italian tomatoes....."

Read the whole article here (it's in the middle of the page). Are we blushing? You bet! I also particularly loved my tomato sauce recipe and Kate's comments that "My (her) tomato risotto (with our tomatoes) was one of the best I've ever made or eaten". And the rice she used? Arborio. Kate, we should talk about it.

Thank you so much!

Pasta Latini and Miracolo di San Gennaro - A Worthy Pair!

Francis Lam cooks his pasta al pomodoro with Pasta Latini and Miracolo di San Gennaro tomatoes and he writes on gourmet.com. Read here his post: Yeah, It’s Worth It.  Thank you Francis!

Interesting to read the reactions of Francis' readers in their comments to the post. Is it worth it to pay top dollars for exceptional food? We want you to try these products, taste the differrence and tell us what you think. Until february 15th Pasta Latini and Miracolo di San Gennaro are 50% off if you write in the "special instrucions" box of your shopping cart the special code "Francis sent me". Remember, we want you to try and not stock your pantry; therefore, max 2 pieces of each per order!