Celebrating Our Success One Delicious Bite at a Time

Ah, the sweet taste of success! Earlier this month, Ron and Catie returned from NYC with our fourth NASFT sofi^TM Gold statue.(For those who don’t know, the sofi^TM gold statue is the specialty food industry’s equivalent to Hollywood’s Oscar^®.)

RITROVO^® SELECTIONS^TM Mt. Townsend Truffle & Salt Seastack Cheese represents our first gold win for a product developed in the U.S., in partnership with Mt. Townsend Creamery in Port Townsend, WA. It’s the crowning success to our new line of Truffle & Salt products, all incorporating RITROVO^® SELECTIONS^TM Truffle & Salt, a 2005 sofi^TM gold-winning product.

A Truffle & Salt celebration was in order! We broke out the bubbly, and among the other delicious delights we pulled from our “warehouse-sized” pantry, made a crowd-pleasing batch of Truffle & Salt popcorn (Look for this recipe, and a few other favorite seasonal recipes below, including fresh chickpeas with our Controne Hot Pepper glaze and “floral” potato made with our Fiori & Salt.)

As the bubbly went to our heads (and maybe the success a bit too), we began to reflect on what Ritrovo^® means to us. There are the academic definitions of ritrovo:

“Ritrovo” [in Italian] denotes a reunion or “gathering again” of friends, family, or colleagues. In regional parlances such as Tuscan or northeastern Friulian, a ritrovo is a place where people come to eat, drink, and be merry. Additionally, the verb “ritrovare” means “to find again” something once lost.

But, what’s been most important to us from the start, is showing people how to incorporate the beauty of food into their everyday lives. We want Ritrovo^® to encourage people to rediscover the value of slow-paced, socially-based mealtimes, and to consciously select foods from small, organically-focused farms and producers.

So here are some dishes so you can celebrate right along with us.

Green chickpeas with controne hot pepper glaze

2 cups fresh chickpeas in the husk

1/2 cup Italian white wine

2 Tbsp. Michele Ferrante or Madonna delle Olive extra virgin olive oil

pinch or so of Casina Rossa Cervia Limited Edition Sea Salt

1/2-1 tsp. controne hot pepper

Heat a saute pan over medium-high heat. Place 1 Tbsp. exztra virgin olive oil in a heavy saute pan. Add fresh chickpeas and saute for about 5 minutes. Add the controne pepper and salt. Add the white wine and stir gently. Add remaining olive oil . Reduce heat to low and continue stirring over low heat. After about 10 minutes test to see if  chickpeas are tender. Add more white wine, if needed, to continue to cook chickpeas in some liquid.  Serve hot as an appetizer.  Try with Campanian Falanghina white wine.

“Confetti” Potato salad with Casina Rossa Fiori & Salt

The multicolors of edible flowers in the fiori & salt, together with two colors of potatoes and microgreens give a colorful, “confetti” –like feeling to this classic.

One pound Purple and white potatoes

Casina Rossa Cervia Limited Edition Sea Salt

3 hardboiled eggs, microplaned

1 tsp. Fiori & salt

1 Tbsp. Feudo delle Ginestre Cerasuolo rose wine vinegar

¼ cup Mannucci-Droandi Chianti Classico Extra Virgin Olive Oil

One cup Microgreens

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add a pinch of the Cervia Sea Salt. Peel potatoes and boil in water until tender. Allow to cool.

In a large bowl, combine the vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, and Fiori & Salt, mix well.  When the potatoes are completely cooled, chop into 1-inch cubes and mix into oil-vinegar mixture. Gently toss in hardboiled egg.  Serve over microgreens.