 Eleanora Cunacia
& Primitivizia
Eleanora's office is a place
in which unfortunately,
very few of us will ever set foot.
You see, her job is first and foremost, as a forager. She roams the hillsides, valleys and mountains of the Dolomite Alps in Spiazzo, Italy - near the border of Trentino and Lombardy - searching for the wild herbs, fruits and vegetables that go into her incredible concoctions.
She has been granted one of the few permits to harvest the ingredients from the natural park in which she lives. She left the restaurant business in 2004 to begin doing what her gradmother taught her many years before - using the bounty of the land to create condiments that complement the cuisine of the area.
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NEW! Wild Herb Pestos from Primitivizia
With incredible names like Crescione and Buonenrico, these products sound like something out of a seed catalog, not something you'd want to slather on a crostini. But their flavors are familiar and absolutely delicious.
Crescione is a wild watercress that grows on the banks of mountain streams. The flavor has bittersweet notes, like traditional watercress, but the sweetness is more present and it has a nuttiness to it that we just love. It's incredible mixed with equal parts sweet butter and tossed with boiled potatoes. We love to serve a dollop on a salumi platter. And this summer, we've been using a dollop of this, in lieu of traditional basil pesto, to accent a Caprese salad.
Eleanora Cunacia  | Buonenrico, or wild spinach, is one of the tougher products for Eleanora to harvest as it grows at high altitudes in the valleys of the Alps and Appenines. Once again, it is recognizable as spinach but with a stronger, earthy flavor. This is our favorite with pasta - it's a beautiful match with gnocchi - a little pesto, some pasta water to loosen up the sauce, a few tablespoons of olive oil and grated Parmigiano - perfection. The woodsy flavors also play nicely with whole grain pasta - try tossing it with the Whole Wheat Orzo, slivered almonds and cubed feta.
Never has broccoli sounded as sensual as it does when it comes from Primitivizia - Broccolo di Santa Massenza is a gorgeous puree of the wild broccoli that Eleanora harvests from the lower hills around her town. It is sweet and strong with the flavor of broccoli. If you're hoping to convert your broccoli-hating children, this isn't the place to look! We adore this stirred into just-set scrambled eggs served over a slice of grilled country bread. It is also phenomenal with soft cheeses like ricotta or a creamy goat cheese.
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SPECIAL PRICE! Colavolpe Baked Figs
With the new harvest of figs about to commence in Calabria,
we need to make room in the warehouse!
The genesis of this product, and anything candied, is the idea of preserving the best of a seasonal product to be enjoyed year-round. So the folks at Colavolpe in the south of Italy take their fresh figs and bake them slowly in their magical and secret syrup, (we know it has vanilla and we're quite sure there's orange peel), thereby allowing this ultra-seasonal fruit to be savored all year!
We love to pile them into a cheese platter with chunks of Reggiano, a scattering of hazelnuts and a nice bottle of balsamic for drizzling. Or if you're so inclined, dip them in chocolate. Or top a scoop of gelato with figs and a drizzle of honey. Or just pop the top and dig in with a toothpick!
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