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Adjoining Passo di Colfiorito in the enchanting zone of Castelluccio of Norcia, in Umbria, gentle hills roll down to plains of the same name at over 800 metres above sea-level and host our cultivation of leguminous plants, a crop which only this poor, leached mountainous terrain can render tasty and easy to cook. The lentils of the Cipolloni company have been grown on hard ground without the help of fertilisers, herbicides, or insecticides for a long time and are therefore organic in every respect.
Farmers in our mountains cultivate these leguminous plants on leached soils poor in calcium. This environment is ideal for obtaining a unique quality which has a special flavour and is easy to cook thanks to a thin cuticle. The lentils of Colfiorito together with chickling are grown in rotation with pasture, on lands situated at 800-900metres above sea level. This year, the lentils of Castelluccio of Norcia, Umbria have obtained certification of origin and quality (IGP) by the European Community, an additional title for what are rightly held to be the best lentils in the world. They are grown on a beautiful high plateau at 1400 metres above sea-level dominated by Monte Vettore (2500metres) so the productivity per hectare is very low. The organic company Cuore Verde (Green Heart, so named since Umbria is often referred to as the “cuore verde d’Italia”, the green heart of Italy) is skilfully run by the Antonellis, a couple who produce pulses of unequalled goodness and novelty on our behalf. Their guiding philosophy has indeed been to reintroduce the production of extremely high quality pulses which have disappeared from Italian cultivation. An emblematic example is the re-propagation of a bean starting from a ‘handful’ of seeds rediscovered in an unknown location by Professor Giansanti, now responsible for regional agriculture, and entrusted to the Antonellis. I refer to ‘risina’ said to be of Lake Trasimeno the place where it was grown in ancient times but which is currently only cultivated in Spello. The Antonellis produce other products for us on stony marl in addition to risina, notably ‘cocco bianco’ (white beans) also known as “ Pope’s bean”, chickpeas, cannellini beans and borlotto beans. Risina has been appreciated by the greatest Italian chefs for its very delicate flavour and is ideal in refined dishes combined with various types of seafood whereas cocco bianco beans are very versatile and can be used in anything from “cold salads” to “cream soups". The other pulses more commonly used in traditional Italian cooking are also exceptionally good. Emmer and barley growers have carried out an operation similar to that carried out on the pulses by the aforementioned Antonellis. In 1985, Mr Luigi Emilani managed to isolate and reselect the germplasm of “triticum dicoccum” from cereals cultivated high up in the mountain peaks where part of the harvest was re-used for sowing the following year. This ancient Roman grain which was famous for its roughness and high protein (gluten) contents is the emmer which we now sell for it is a cereal composed of pure triticum dicoccum without the presence of common grains of low protein content. In fact, it is easy to buy a mix of grains which although ‘ancient’ like polonicum and spelt, not only contain less gluten and therefore offer a lower dietetic value but also disintegrate when cooked thereby losing the special characteristic of soups made with broken emmer.
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