GREY DAYS, GOLDEN TOMATOES

 

While we were sipping a delightful cider granita with our friend Wade Bennett of Rockridge Orchards, at his stand in our neighborhood farmers’ market in West Seattle, we asked, “So, how are things at you orchards, Wade? This cider is delicious!”

 

Wade smiled in his customary placid way and replied, “Things are good, even if we have lost all our tomatoes and cucumbers this year to bad weather.”

 

Fortunately Wade has other local delights to offer. Still, there is nothing better than his midsummer Japanese kyuri style cucumbers. His mixed golden and red cherry tomatoes, though fantastic by themselves, make for a memorable panzanella salad or fresh tomato soup, or even fusion-style spring rolls with smoked salmon, dipped in Casina Rossa lemon oil and Acetorium fig vinegar.

 

And we have our Maida Golden tomato passata or puree, which has been a sunshine staple for us all winter.

 

During many a gray morning this past winter we would roast fennel seeds and Controne wild oregano in San Basilio extra virgin olive oil, rejoicing in the sunny suite of Mediterranean aromas while preparing for a chilly, foreshortened day in the Pacific Northwest. Simply reheating the oil and stirring in a half jar of Maida Golden tomato passata made an instantly-rich tomato broth, and dipping crusts of bread into the golden broth was as warming and satisfying as the Spring sun on an Italian beach.

 

 

Gazpacho Andaluz

 

Ingredients:

 

2lb ripe vine tomatoes or 1 jar of Maida golden tomato puree

1 Small cucumber

1 Green bell pepper or Poblano pepper

1 Garlic clove

1 Small white onion

1 Cup of bread cubes (with no crust) soaked in 2 cups of water

6 tbsp of San Basilio E.V.O.O.

3 tbsp of Acetorium Tomato Vinegar

Fresh basil or Mint for decoratation.

Casina Rossa Cervia Limited Edition Salt to taste

 

How to Prepare:

Chop all the vegetables in small cubes. Place the vegetables, the vinegar and the bread crumbs with the water in a small stockpot. With a hand or regulare blender reduce the ingredients to a sauce consistency. If the sauce is too thick add little more water. Add salt and San Basilio EVOO and mix few more seconds. Tip: place the stockpot in the freezer few minutes before using. This will ensure the puree to not overheat during the mixing.

 

Chill until ingredients are well-blended, Serve in small cups with a drizzle of more olive oil, tomato vinegar 

RITROVO: a joyous “refinding” of others at the dining table

Long before RITROVO became the name of our company and web site in the United States, it was the name of a special kind of place for us in Italy.

During our six years of living and traveling throughout rural Italy we saw the sign “Il Ritrovo” again and again. In asking a local friend about this recurrence he replied that a “ritrovo” is simply a place where one gets together with friends and enjoys simple, mostly local, food and drink. Though this term seems to refer to what we call a “wine bar” in the U.S., it has a different emphasis. The importance of a “Ritrovo” is to host a get-together (lit. a “finding again”) in a comforting place, where people can renew their social bonds.

In fact, we decided upon our company name at such a place. We were seated on the porch of a rustic, white-curtained “Ritrovo” at Felluga winery, located near the Friulian village of Gradisca di Isonzo, “getting together” with our friend Gaspare and sipping local Tocai and Cabernet Franc wines. These wines were served with paper-thin San Daniele prosciutto and cubes of Montasio cheese, followed by roasted and tender Stinco, a delicious cut of meat (from the shin, in fact). The three of us passed the hours of an overcast afternoon laughing and chatting; some time during that magical afternoon we came upon the idea of using RITROVO for the company we were going to start in the U.S. Ritrovo, in its many word forms (as explained at www.ritrovo.com) was not only a pleasing concept for Italians in general but also an excellent idea for our values-driven company.

Now, ten years after that magical afternoon, we welcome you to RITROVO. We look forward to getting together with you again — at our blog or web site, or at your table as you together enjoy the artisan, regionally-based Italian products that we develop and bring directly to the U.S.

Ci ritroviamo (we’ll get together again),

Ron & Ilyse