Carpaccio di Finocchio alla Crudaiola NEW

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.

We selected the tenderest hearts of our fennel, after giving it a delicately sweet and sour touch, we kept them in extra virgin olive oil.

In limited edition they are ideal for an appetizer, one leads to another, or to accompany fish main courses.

We grow these cherry tomatoes on our own land, just a few kilometres from the sea, in the period April-July – the month they are harvested, selected, and then cut. All completely by hand. The word “Confit” comes from French and is used to describe a traditional preserving technique that involves drying at low temperatures over a long period, with sugar.

The hot peppers are cultivated in open field between the end of May and the beginning of June. The picking, between August and October, requires more steps because of the peculiarities of this plant. All the phases are done by hand inside our farm. They are washed, selected, removed of their petiole, cut into rings and laid to mature under salt. Then, without adding any other ingredients, they are put in extra virgin olive oil. It is a process that requires experience and care because, only in this way, our hot peppers arrive on your table all the year round.

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.

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. 

“Puntarelle” are the heart of CICORIA CATALOGNA, a lettuce typical of our area. Sown in October, the vegetable is picked between January and February. Our women remove the leaves of the plant and manually cut away the “scattuni”, i.e., the shoots, an put them delicately in pickle to ripen for a few days, before being preserved under oil without the addition of aromas or spices.

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.

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. 

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.

Capers are typical of the Salento landscape and of the country tradition. During all the ‘900 whole families got up very early in the morning and went to the countryside to pick the capers up, one by one, from the low and bushy plants. In the ’70 the town of Racale was a leader in the production of capers. When capers arrive to our factory, they are washed, removed from their petiole and preserved with salt for 3-4 months. After that, we drain the water in excess and we add dried sea-salt, then capers are bottled natural, as they are. Recently we have planted fields of new caper-plants in our area, and have started to promote the importance of “the caper” not only in our nation but also in foreign countries. 

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.

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.

 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 and sunflower seed oil. No other ingredients or spices are added in order to valorize the unique taste of this product.