BBQ Appetizer 230g

It takes its name from the particular purple colour that its leaves turn as it nears ripening. Grown from the month of October, it is gently harvested by hand in May. This artichoke is a true cure-all: it helps lower cholesterol levels, stimulate diuresis and regularise the intestinal functions.

Our Extra Artichoke Hearts are the top of our artichoke range. Crunchy, with a mild flavour, they are delicious when eaten on their own, ideal for garnishing fresh salads and perfect for enhancing and adding value to any dish, thanks to their natural freshness.

We cultivate the zucchini in open field in the month of April and we pick them up by hand in June and July. Then they are washed, selected, cut into slice with all the peel, salted and desiccated on frames in the sun for 3-4 days. After that, they are selected again, washed, seasoned with Mediterranean spices and put in extravirgin olive oil. To obtain 500 Gr. of dried zucchini we need about 10 Kg of fresh zucchini and more than 120 working hours! We have learnt from our grandpa to respect the natural time of maturation and desiccation of the vegetables, only in this way they conserve all their nourishing richness.

The greens in this dried hors-d’oeuvre are cultivated in open field from April to May and are picked by hand from June to September. they are washed, selected, cut into large slices, put on desiccation frames and laid in the sun for 3-4 days. 

They are cultivated in open field in the month of May and picked by hand in August and September. They are washed, selected, peeled, cut in thin strips and laid to mature under salt. “Allucarcu” is a typical expression of our local speech and is the method used for this old technique. 

The Giardiniera mixed pickled vegetables by i Contadini is prepared from late September to the end of November. The four types of vegetable - peppers, fennel, carrots and cauliflower are harvested and prepared while at their freshest. The pickling is still carried out manually, by the expert hands of the women in the family, following a traditional recipe, and the vegetables are bottled in glass jars with a very mild sweet and sour solution. Its colours will bring you a breath of warmth from our home.

Sweet red peppers are grown in open field in May and picked manually in August and September on our farm. They are washed, sorted, cut into strips, pickled for a few hours, after which that are manually put into jars, along with fresh mint leaves, dry garlic and extra virgin olive oil.

Our onions are cultivated in open field from february and picked by hand in the month of june, when they are fully mature. This kind of onion is a very sweet one with unmistakable taste. Each and every onion is washed, peeled, cut into slices and dried by using a fully natural method. 

They are wild greens and grow at 5-10 cm under the soil. They can’t be cultivated and their presence on our tables is possible only thanks to the farmers that collect them digging the ground with a hoe. We buy these greens from them. It is very important to wash them well and carefully. After the washing, we scald them in water and wine-vinegar. Then, we start to clean them by hand with a small knife. The cleaning consists in removing the external part in order to arrive to the core of the vegetables. This process requires a lot of time, great care and patience. In the end they are put in extra virgin olive oil and seasoned with fresh mint and hot chili pepper.

The sun dried cherry tomatoes are fragrant and appetizing, perfect to surprise your guests during a hors d’oeuvre. Also very good with a fresh mozzarella, on a pizza, on a bruschetta (roasted bread) with capers from Racale or for a fast and delicious pasta with fresh basil. An ever-increasing number of famous chef have noticed the versatility of this product and are using it more and more to create extraordinary dishes.

These vegetables are a typical variety of our region, Salento. It is very difficult to translate “cime di rapa” into English, maybe it can be “turnip tops”. These greens make part of our rural identity and are very appreciated among all our typical dishes. They are cultivated starting from October and are picked, in different steps, from December to March. The time of picking depends on the variety of the plant and on the technique used. The tender tops are cut by hand from plants as they keep on growing: different cutting phases are applied on the same plant. Once picked, the tops are washed and cleaned from their hard parts, scalded, seasoned and put in extra virgin olive oil.

Small, tender and appetizing, these artichokes are an autochthon variety named “brindisino”. The cultivation starts in the beginning of October and the picking in April. The fresh artichokes end their working process within eight hours of being picked. This kind of artichoke is very tender. We remove the leaves and we turn it by hand with a small knife. Then it is scalded and is put in extra virgin olive oil. No other ingredients or spices are added in order to valorize the unique taste of this product.

This kind of artichokes can only be cultivated taking small plants from an already existent plantation. The cultivation starts in the beginning of October and the picking in the month of May. It is a very hard work and requires a lot of care: just think that, to pick a chase of these artichokes, we have to work for hours on fields of many hectares. The “candino” artichoke is the last one that is picked, in the month of May. The fresh artichokes end their working process within eight hours of being picked. This kind of artichoke is very tender. We remove the leaves and we turn it by hand with a small knife. Then it is scalded and is put in extra virgin olive oil.

We cultivate a particular variety of long aubergine in May and we start the harvest in July and  finish it in September.

The aubergines reach our farm directly from the fields then we cut them into round slices, we let them marinade and then we place them in a jar with fresh mint and just a hint of spices. 

The result is exceptional: a simple but fresh dish, where you can clearly feel the lively taste of the aubergine in perfect balance with the other ingredients.