Cooking - especially for my family and the people I love most - is a sharing activity that brings me enormous joy. The one thing that I know I can always believe in and always rely on is my source of olive oil, which sits at the heart of almost every dish I make. I watch our olive trees throughout the year as they grow, as they change colour with each season, as they are visibly tired towards the end of the hot months and then pick up after a good pruning and cleaning and of course the winter rains. The trees feel like friends partaking in a wider kind of sharing: we give to them and we care for them and in turn they give us their fruits which nurture our body and mind and protect us from disease. By bringing our olive oil to the table and giving it to those who are important to me, I can include them in this cycle and know they are being looked after a little better. @pantanellosicily Photo: @angelodalbo #weekendambitions #pantanellooliveoil #dinnerplans #sicilie #sicily #summer #summerdreams #culture #oliveoil #superfood #extravirginoliveoil #selfcare #selfcarecommunity #organicfood
Friday kitchen evening cosy in Sicily. @pantanellosicily Photo: @samirakafala #quietfriday #pantanellooliveoil #dinnerplans #latestart #sicilie #sicily #spring #culture #oliveoil #superfood #extravirginoliveoil #selfcare #selfcarecommunity #organicfood
Saturday is market day! Today I have clams and cuttlefish on my list for a spicy soupy stew, which will be followed by a risotto made with bone marrow, with lots of salads on the side of course. If I have time I’d love to sauté slowly some small artichokes in olive oil and lemon and orange juice and then and then finely chop them down into a mush for bruschetta to start with… but I have a feeling that might be too ambitious given it is already mid afternoon.. @pantanellosicily Photo: @angelodalbo #weekendambitions #pantanellooliveoil #dinnerplans #latestart #sicilie #sicily #summer #summerdreams #culture #oliveoil #superfood #extravirginoliveoil #selfcare #selfcarecommunity #organicfood
“Mother Nature is our last great luxury” Taken from Richard Christiansen @flamingo_estate, speaking with the brilliant @reveonvert podcast. Photo: @samirakafala #ancient #culture #extravirginoliveoil #food #healthy #healthyfood #howitalyfeels #huiledolive #italianfood #italianoliveoil #landscape #livinghistory #nature #natuur #olie #olijfolie #olioevo #oliveoil #pantanellooliveoil #pantanello #pure #pureoliveoil #respect #sicilianfood #sicilie #sicily #technique #thegoodlife
I love how the capers grow. Their flowers, leaves and seed cases (best eaten small in my view) take an essential role in so many of the classic dishes coming from the south of Italy and from Sicily. Capers cling to the highest walls and rock faces and send their shoots out in abundance. They must be one of the toughest and strongest plants around. They also have some nasty thorns, like a rose, so be prepared for the pain when picking them! You can eat not only the unopened flower buds (pickled in salt or vinegar) but also the seed berries and the leaves. I always find June to be the best month to harvest them. The flowers are coming now by the dozen every day: pick them quickly before they open! Wash them (actually I skip this step), and lay down down in salt. If you move too slowly the flowers overtake you and knock you sideways with their scent and their beauty. They are always buzzing with bees and insects, there must be a honey made from the capers! @pantanellosicily Photo: @samirakafala #ancient #culture #extravirginoliveoil #food #healthy #healthyfood #howitalyfeels #huiledolive #italianfood #italianoliveoil #landscape #livinghistory #nature #natuur #olie #olijfolie #olioevo #oliveoil #pantanellooliveoil #pantanello #pure #pureoliveoil #respect #sicilianfood #sicilie #sicily #technique #thegoodlife
I have always been fascinated by the multitude of uses of olive oil and its role in society which since the start of time has always transcended mere consumption, always carried ‘special’ status. The ancient Greeks attributed the creation of the olive tree to the goddess Athena, while the athletes of that time would ceremoniously coat their bodies with it before competing. Ancient peoples used olive oil not just for consumption and cooking, but also as perfume, anointment for the dead, soap, and lights. Olive oil was referred to as “liquid gold” by Homer and acclaimed as “the great healer” by Hippocrates, while Galen also praised it for its positive effects on health. Modern scandals have tarnished the name and reputation of extra virgin olive oil, as have the production techniques of mass production, consumption and the market, which have stripped it of its taste and unique health-giving qualities and cut buyers off from any kind of understanding of what it actually is. I hope that we can do something to restore understanding and respect for this miraculous oil, truly a gift from nature. @pantanellosicily Photo: @samirakafala #ancient #culture #extravirginoliveoil #food #healthy #healthyfood #howitalyfeels #huiledolive #italianfood #italianoliveoil #landscape #livinghistory #nature #natuur #olie #olijfolie #olioevo #oliveoil #pantanellooliveoil #pantanello #pure #pureoliveoil #respect #sicilianfood #sicilie #sicily #history #culture #ancientgreece #thegoodlife
Today Noto Antica is a rubble wasteland, inhabited by stones, silence, trees, wind and the bells of the sheep from the nearby farms. It feels desolate, you feel the trauma in the air and a heightened sense of the absolute, devastating beauty of the place… something I have to admit I feel in so many places in Sicily: the weight of history and its legacy. It’s not something negative or bad, it is simply unavoidable, unmissable. The citizens of Noto Antica wished to rebuild their city over the ruins of the original location and even went as far as to vote in a referendum to prove this. Their wish was however ignored, and the new Noto, that we know and love today, was built in 1702 in the location designated by Giuseppe Lanza, Duke of Camastra. I guess that even back then, nearly 450 years ago, the presence of the past was making itself felt in the present and they desired to escape it. @pantanellosicily Photo: @angelodalbo #ancient #culture #extravirginoliveoil #food #healthy #healthyfood #howitalyfeels #huiledolive #italianfood #italianoliveoil #landscape #livinghistory #nature #natuur #olie #olijfolie #olioevo #oliveoil #pantanellooliveoil #pantanello #pure #pureoliveoil #respect #sicilianfood #sicilie #sicily #history #culture #ancientgreece #thegoodlife
By the year 909 AD, Noto was an important Muslim city and the namesake of one of the three districts of Sicily as a whole: the Val di Noto. The city contained magnificent gardens, mosques and gardens. When it fell to the Norman’s in the Middle Ages it became even greater and more important and its territories expanded with many churches and castles. It’s wealth and stature brought many artists, humanists and scientists to the city, giving it the name ‘ingeniosa’. By the time it fell, Noto Antica had 56 churches, 19 convents, more than 100 palaces and two churches. Specifically between January 9 and 11, 1693, Noto Antica fell to the ground, never to be resurrected again. @pantanellosicily Photo: @angelodalbo #ancient #culture #extravirginoliveoil #food #healthy #healthyfood #howitalyfeels #huiledolive #italianfood #italianoliveoil #landscape #livinghistory #nature #natuur #olie #olijfolie #olioevo #oliveoil #pantanellooliveoil #pantanello #pure #pureoliveoil #respect #sicilianfood #sicilie #sicily #history #culture #ancientgreece #thegoodlife
They say that the legendary leader Ducetius founded the city of Noto Antica by moving the entirety of the city of Neas there from the uplands of Mendola, taking his people to a safer and more defendable position with abundant water (perfect today for cooling dives in the hot summer sun). The earliest archeological remains found in the city date back to the 7th and 8th centuries BC. Ducetius dreamed of reuniting the original peoples of south east Sicily - the Sicels - with the Greek invaders. This was the 5th Century BC. So much in love with the history of this place. @pantanellosicily Photo: @angelodalbo #ancient #culture #extravirginoliveoil #food #healthy #healthyfood #howitalyfeels #huiledolive #italianfood #italianoliveoil #landscape #livinghistory #nature #natuur #olie #olijfolie #olioevo #oliveoil #pantanellooliveoil #pantanello #pure #pureoliveoil #respect #sicilianfood #sicilie #sicily #history #culture #ancientgreece #thegoodlife
A beautiful, and moving spot for summer walking and cold river swimming is Noto Antica - the heart-shaped city. According to legend, Daedalus stayed here city after his flight over the Ionian Sea, as did Hercules after completing his seventh task. Noto Antica was destroyed in one night with the massive earthquake that flattened all of south east Sicily on the 11th January 1693. This tower, together with the beautiful city walls are almost all that remain of what was once a truly powerful and great city, some 8 kilometers north to where Noto lies today, on Mt. Alveria. @pantanellosicily Photo: @angelodalbo #ancient #culture #extravirginoliveoil #food #healthy #healthyfood #howitalyfeels #huiledolive #italianfood #italianoliveoil #landscape #livinghistory #nature #natuur #olie #olijfolie #olioevo #oliveoil #pantanellooliveoil #pantanello #pure #pureoliveoil #respect #sicilianfood #sicilie #sicily #history #culture #ancientgreece #thegoodlife
Polyphenals are plant compounds, or chemicals that are usually produced in the outer skin of plants and fruit to protect them from external challenges such as microbial attacks, fungal infections and oxiditative stress: oxygen gives life because it is so highly reactive but conversely it can also damage molecules, especially when it in its most active form, that of free radicles. When the surface of a freshly bitten apple turns brown, this is the protective response of its internal polyphenal antioxidants protecting its open wound from the oxygen. Likewise olive trees produce a high quantity of polyphenal antioxidants because they tend to exist in such a very harsh and arid environment. If you stress an olive tree by reducing the water, growing it at altitude or organically, the tree will produce more polyphenals to protect its fruit from oxidation and the extra challenges of its environment. It is the tree’s own means to protect its fruit. Thus when we consume the purest quality juice of the olive tree - extra virgin olive oil - which is also full of the same antioxidant compounds, we in turn protect our bodies from the free radicals circulating in our systems. With thanks to the fantastic @tasteofthemed, his books, interviews and podcasts for explaining this so well. @pantanellosicily extra virgin olive oil Photo: @samirakafala #ancient #culture #extravirginoliveoil #food #healthy #healthyfood #howitalyfeels #huiledolive #italianfood #italianoliveoil #landscape #livinghistory #nature #natuur #olie #olijfolie #olioevo #oliveoil #pantanellooliveoil #pantanello #pure #pureoliveoil #respect #sicilianfood #sicilie #sicily #technique #thegoodlife
Indigenous knowledge that we have passed down from generation to generation for millennia is now coming to the forefront and being explained through the lens of science. We all know that the processes of cultivating, harvesting, production and storage all influence the quality and taste of an extra virgin olive oil and also influence its capacity to have multiple beneficial effects on our well being. What is so interesting though is that many of the substances that are responsible for the range of tastes and flavours of olive oil are the same chemical compounds that give olive oil its wide range of health benefits. Olive trees grow and respond well to arid and harsh conditions. In fact, it is these very conditions that serve to impact positively both the quantity of healthy antioxidants and its taste. With thanks to the fantastic @tasteofthemed, his books, interviews and podcasts for explaining this so well: may I send you some bottles of Pantanello? @pantanellosicily extra virgin olive oil Photo: @samirakafala #ancient #culture #extravirginoliveoil #food #healthy #healthyfood #howitalyfeels #huiledolive #italianfood #italianoliveoil #landscape #livinghistory #nature #natuur #olie #olijfolie #olioevo #oliveoil #pantanellooliveoil #pantanello #pure #pureoliveoil #respect #sicilianfood #sicilie #sicily #technique #thegoodlife
At Pantanello our approach is the opposite of dominating and exploiting the landscape for profit. We celebrate the wild and untouched and we strive to create a landscape that is both resilient and nourished: a landscape that can support its life and diversity and enable them to flourish. Photo: @samirakafala #ancient #culture #extravirginoliveoil #food #healthy #healthyfood #howitalyfeels #huiledolive #italianfood #italianoliveoil #landscape #livinghistory #nature #natuur #olie #olijfolie #olioevo #oliveoil #pantanellooliveoil #pantanello #pure #pureoliveoil #respect #sicilianfood #sicilie #sicily #technique #thegoodlife
A nourished landscape is one which creates life rather than destroy it. @pantanellosicily we take pride in employing the ancient techniques - passed down through the generations - to care for our trees by hand. Photo: @samirakafala #ancient #culture #extravirginoliveoil #food #healthy #healthyfood #howitalyfeels #huiledolive #italianfood #italianoliveoil #landscape #livinghistory #nature #natuur #olie #olijfolie #olioevo #oliveoil #pantanellooliveoil #pantanello #pure #pureoliveoil #respect #sicilianfood #sicilie #sicily #technique #thegoodlife
When the Greeks first landed in Sicily they could hardly believe how fertile the island’s soil is. Odysseus described it at length, describing an orchard filled with fruits and different trees so that they gave food, oil, wine and much through throughout all seasons of the year. And Plato disapproved! (No wonder he did not stay long for either trip). I love what he wrote about the food scene in Siracusa: “And when I came [to Sicily] I was in no wise pleased at all with “the blissful life” as it is there termed, replete as it is with Italian and Siracusan banqueting; for thus one’s existence is spent in gorging food twice a day and never sleeping alone at night and all the practices which accompany this mode of living.” @pantanellosicily Photo: @angelodalbo #betterlife #betterliving #culture #cultura #evolovers #extravirginoliveoil #food #healthyfood #howitalyfeels #huiledolive #italianoliveoil #livinghistory #natura #nature #natuur #olie #olijfolie #olio #olioevo #oliveoil #pantanellooliveoil #pantanello #pure #purenature #pureoliveoil #sicilianfood #sicilie #sicily #siracusa #thegoodlife
Unlock a healthier life and introduce a dose of top quality and organic olive oil to your daily regime. Did you know that incorporating organic, extra virgin olive oil into your diet is proven to decrease the risk of heart disease, to reduce inflammation within your body, to promote a balanced blood pressure, to improve your cholesterol and blood sugar levels and to support the good-bacteria in the gut? @pantanellosicily Photo: @samirakafala #OliveOilBenefits #HealthyLiving #italianoliveoil #evolovers #sicilianfood #oliveoil #olio #olioevo #noto #pantanellooliveoil #sicilia #sicily #oliveoil #nature #natura #culture #cultura #betterlife #betterliving #inspiration #food #healthyfood #olie #olijfolie #huiledolive #howitalyfeels
Something we can always bear in mind is the plea of Sicilian poet Ibn Hamdis, never to settle for the superficial but to seek out the profound and the real in what surrounds us: They look perfect, those things, but they only shine before your eyes: they’re worth nothing; how many enemies live inside a friend and how quiet is the stillness where the thief hides! How many beautiful and proud horses grow weary before reaching their goal! How many camels, traveling through the night are waylaid by the hurdles on their path! So, it’s exertion that carries a lover where ascesis and anguish merge: a tragedy to the man afflicted by ignorance when they praise his body and not his mind! Money flees as swift as a bird’s wing: but it’s clipped and leaves no goods behind: how many worthy men in humble clothing! It is the sword that needs to be polished, not the gem. Such beautiful words from a man whose people enriched and brought so much to the tiny island of Sicily, among which sugar cane, cotton, mulberries, dates, pistachio, melons, saffron, rice, cinnamon and aniseed. They also used the materials they found here, such as the carob tree, turning its seeds into the standard weight for weighing gold: the ‘carat’ was born from the Arabic ‘quirat’ which still stands for the carob seed or the number of gold parts contained in 24 parts of an alloy. @pantanellosicily #oliveoil #sicilianhistory #PoeticHarmony #MediterraneanVerse #ConnectedCultures #SharedHumanExperience #historyiswhoweare #italianoliveoil #evolovers #sicilianfood #oliveoil #olio #olioevo #noto #pantanellooliveoil #sicilia #sicily #oliveoil #nature #natura #culture #cultura #betterlife #betterliving #inspiration #food #healthyfood #olie #olijfolie #huiledolive #howitalyfeels
I first came across the poetry of Ibn Hamdis while reading the book Pomp And Sustenance:-five Centuries of Sicilian Food by @mtsimeti (her books on Sicily are amazing and I recommend every single one of them!). Taylor Simeti’s descriptions and citings of his homesickness moved me deeply and I have never since forgotten his name. Hamdis was born in either Noto or Siracusa around 1055 to an important family. Not wishing to succumb to the new governance of Guiscard’s rule and religion he left Sicily in his early 20s, soon after the Normans came to power, taking his entire family first to Andalusia and then to Seville. From there he continued to wander through the Western Islamic world of that time: Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco and Majorca (where he died in 1132), always in search of patrons for his poetry: I remember Sicily, as agony Stirs in my soul remembrances of her. An abode for the pleasures of my youth, now vacated, Once inhabited by the noblest of people. For I have been banished from Paradise, And I [long to] tell you its story. Were it not for the saltiness of tears I would imagine my tears as rivers. @pantanellosicily Photo: @samirakafala #oliveoil #sicilianhistory #PoeticHarmony #MediterraneanVerse #ConnectedCultures #SharedHumanExperience #historyiswhoweare #italianoliveoil #evolovers #sicilianfood #oliveoil #olio #olioevo #noto #pantanellooliveoil #sicilia #sicily #oliveoil #nature #natura #culture #cultura #betterlife #betterliving #inspiration #food #healthyfood #olie #olijfolie #huiledolive #howitalyfeels
In the year 1059, Pope Nicholas II crowned the Frenchman of Norse origins - Robert Guiscard - king of Count of Sicily, Apulia, and Calabria. At that time Sicily was under the control of the Arabs and had been for two centuries. It took thirty years for the island to fall to the French. The ancient, walled city of Noto Antica fell last in 1089, three years after Siracusa. From this moment on the rich period of Siqilliyat—the Arabic word for Arab-ruled Sicily—came to an end. Not wishing to fall under foreign rule, many Arabs left the island that had been their homeland. Among them is the poet Ibn Hamdis, whose heartbreaking poetry has resonated throughout the ages and stands as among the greatest poetry of his, or any, age. When Sicily fills my memory, Ahh what pain I feel, Upon remembering my youth, my glory, My delirious love! @pantanellosicily #oliveoil #sicilianhistory #PoeticHarmony #MediterraneanVerse #ConnectedCultures #SharedHumanExperience #historyiswhoweare #italianoliveoil #evolovers #sicilianfood #oliveoil #olio #olioevo #noto #pantanellooliveoil #sicilia #sicily #oliveoil #nature #natura #culture #cultura #betterlife #betterliving #inspiration #food #healthyfood #olie #olijfolie #huiledolive #howitalyfeels
Extra Virgin olive oil is a proven ‘superfood’. Since Greek times we have known that olive oil has impressive health-giving qualities, even more so the Olio Nuovo - or that freshest of the fresh extra virgin olive oil, just off the trees, pressed and bottled which contains extraordinarily high levels of a range of naturally occurring compounds called polyphenols. Science is catching up with what the Greeks knew all along. Amongst the different kinds of polyphenals there are oleocanthal and oleacein, about which there is now much excitement because of their anti-oxidant and anti- inflammatory effects upon the body in addition to their role in protecting against cardiovascular, metabolic diseases and cancer. For instance, we now know that Olio Nuovo’s oleocanthal works in the same way as ibuprofen: blocking a common inflammatory enzyme called cyclooxygenase. The Sicilian way of producing olive oil - harvesting the olives early in the season when they are still immature and green on the trees (never from the ground) then cold pressing them on the same day - ensures that these natural benefits are most concentrated, even if we sacrifice higher yields as a result. Your brain and body will thank you for every drop of Olio Nuovo consumed. At Pantanello we integrate it into everything that we cook and we regularly take a spoonful each morning as part of our waking routine. Try it and you will taste immediately those peppery compounds which are so good for the body and that automatically make you cough or sneeze as it reaches the back of your throat. Don’t be surprised! This is the body’s automatic response to the pungent, bitter compound and the proof of the quality of the oil and its anti-inflammatory potential. @pantanellosicily Photo: @angelodalbo #OliveOilMagic #healthfromnature #italianoliveoil #evolovers #sicilianfood #oliveoil #olio #olioevo #noto #pantanellooliveoil #sicilia #sicily #oliveoil #nature #natura #culture #cultura #betterlife #betterliving #inspiration #food #healthyfood #olie #olijfolie #huiledolive #howitalyfeels #橄榄油 #オリーブオイル
Thinking about the year ahead and laying out the moments we want to look forwards to. Which carries most impact, the anticipation of the event or the event itself? That power of the imagination to turn memory and projected futures into emotion is so powerful! This Christmas break I had every intention to make a lobster and had variations on the theme thoroughly mapped out in my head: bisque, a creamy, saffron pasta with lobster sauce, lobster with a finger licking aioli, lobster a la American. Not only were the recipes planned but also the making, the serving and the varying reactions of the loved ones around me. Then flu hit and energy levels were dissipated. Once better (and clearly impatient) I asked the fishmonger on a Monday if he had it: obviously the worst day of the week! His look told me everything I needed to know. Safe to say the holidays were dominated by Christmas Day leftovers and the glamour of the lobster was decisively absent. Portentiously perhaps the last time I made lobster it escaped from the fridge and had crawled across the kitchen floor by the time it was found. Anyway, this food fantasy will be played out soon and has a firm place in my 2024 moments to look forwards to. Served of course with lashings of @pantanellosicily . Photo: @samirakafala #culinarycomeback #lobsterresurrection #fallendreams #dashedambitions #noto #lobster #fantasy #future #dreams #fantasyfeast #pantanellooliveoil #evoo
@pantanellosicily: the kitchen in winter. To buy our extra virgin, organic and DOP certified delicious olive oil please go to the links at @pantanellosicily #winter #wintercolours #sicily #oliveoil #extravirginoliveoil #evoo #pantanellooliveoil
@pantanellosicily: the kitchen in winter. To try our organic, DOP certified extra virgin olive oil click on the link in our profile! #winter #wintercolours #sicily #oliveoil #extravirginoliveoil #evoo #pantanellosicily #pantanellooliveoil
In 1608 Caravaggio was visiting Malta when word arrived that he had murdered Ranuccio Tomassoni shortly before in Rome and was actually on the run. He was imprisoned, but escaped and fled to Siracusa, where he painted one of his masterpieces, The Burial of St. Lucy, which can still be seen today in the church of Santa Lucia al Sepolchro, in Ortigia. Arriving in Siracusa he went to visit the latomie caves: the ancient limestone quarry for Siracusa, located in what is today inside the archeological site. The caves today look far less deep and impressive than they originally were: the ground level has risen due to the presence of the beautiful lemon groves just outside of them and sands washed in with centuries of rain. One particularly infamous ruler of Siracusa at the time of the making of these caves was Dionysus, a violent, obsessive, cruel, intelligent and paranoid man even by the standards of his day. According to legend, and as recounted to Caravaggio, this cave pictured here was carved in such a way as to direct the acoustics of those imprisoned inside directly to whom was outside, allowing them to hear every word and every whisper inside. Dionysus used this series of caves as places for imprisonment, for torture and for murder, so there may well be some truth in the story in connection also to its acoustics. With his painterly eye, Caravaggio literally saw the giant edifice of stone mimicking and tracing the lines of a human ear and named it Dionysus’ Ear, which has remained its name ever since. @pantanellosicily @angelodalbo #italianoliveoil #siracusa #history #caravaggio #sicilianfood #oliveoil #olio #olioevo #noto #pantanellooliveoil #sicilia #sicily #oliveoil #nature #natura #culture #cultura #betterlife #betterliving #inspiration #food #healthyfood #olie #olijfolie #huiledolive #howitalyfeels
Delicious every day. @pantanellosicily @samirakafala #italianoliveoil #evolovers #sicilianfood #oliveoil #olio #olioevo #noto #pantanellooliveoil #sicilia #sicily #oliveoil #nature #natura #culture #cultura #betterlife #betterliving #inspiration #food #healthyfood #olie #olijfolie #huiledolive #howitalyfeels #slowlivingforlife
I did not know much about artichokes until I started to come to Sicily. We had grown up with them growing in the garden but my father claimed not to like them so my mother never touched them. Even the smaller artichokes that you find in Italy are still big and bulky to buy and unless you are in the city with a great food market they are unlikely to be ready prepared for you. But once you have the hang of it, preparing artichokes is one of those nice jobs that you can do while discussing your day with whoever happens to be there, better still with a glass of white wine on the go. The first artichokes are coming into season here in Sicily now. You see the first heads popping up in the fields and the first boxes in the shops. It is a season I wait for and look forwards to enormously! I love to stuff mine with parsley, mint and chilli and then cook them with the lid on in white wine and olive oil. When they are cooked you can dip your bread in the oil which has also soaked up that metallic, mineral taste of the artichoke. I also love them chopped small and cooked in broth with potatoes, ham and fresh peas, or just the hearts cooked gently in salted water and then preserved in a jar with some fresh mentuccia. In Venice I have had them chopped small and deep fried in batter, in Rome they were amazing cut so thin they are almost shavings and then eaten raw with lemon juice, parmesan and olive oil, not to mention them deep fried ‘alla giudecca’… yet another form of heaven. This spring, as soon as they are ready, I want to dig up the wild artichoke in the fields and cook them really slowly stuffed with meat in a tomato sauce and then serve them with freshly made pasta following a recipe I saw recently with @pastagrannies, whose film of an old lady dressed in black digging up the wild artichoke in the fields made me very happy to see. @pantanellosicily #italianoliveoil #evolovers #sicilianfood #oliveoil #olio #olioevo #noto #pantanellooliveoil #sicilia #sicily #oliveoil #nature #natura #culture #cultura #betterlife #betterliving #inspiration #food #healthyfood #olie #olijfolie #huiledolive #howitalyfeels #橄榄油 #オリーブオイル
I’m sitting not far from here now, watching as the last light of this year fades away. All I can hear is birds, cow bells and then silence. The air is still, fresh and moist from last night’s rain. Purely peaceful and a perfect end to anyway and to a day. (I still need to cook for the party that starts in a few hours!) @pantanellosicily Photo: @samirakafala #italianoliveoil #evolovers #sicilianfood #oliveoil #olio #olioevo #noto #pantanellooliveoil #sicilia #sicily #oliveoil #nature #natura #culture #cultura #betterlife #betterliving #inspiration #food #healthyfood #olie #olijfolie #huiledolive #howitalyfeels #slowlivingforlife
Today also in Sicily it is a cloudy day, the children have flu and everything feels a little ‘under the blanket’. So a photo from June 2020 when I picked the first haul of peaches from the garden. They were exquisite and such a moment of excitement! The tree has sadly since died with the hot summers, but we are slowly working to bring life back to the garden and more will be planted very soon in a more suitable location. @pantanellosicily #italianoliveoil #evolovers #sicilianfood #oliveoil #olio #olioevo #noto #pantanellooliveoil #sicilia #sicily #oliveoil #nature #natura #culture #cultura #betterlife #betterliving #inspiration #food #healthyfood #olie #olijfolie #huiledolive #howitalyfeels #slowlivingforlife
This photo is taken just below the house, it is a spot we walk past every day on our way down into the valley and I have to say that I never really look twice other than looking at a damaged water pipe and reminding myself that it needs to be fixed and that the pile of branches on the ground there need to be cleaned up. Thankyou @samirakafala for bringing out its magic! We never know what is around that corner, but we can enjoy the view! @pantanellosicily #italianoliveoil #evolovers #sicilianfood #oliveoil #olio #olioevo #noto #pantanellooliveoil #sicilia #sicily #oliveoil #nature #natura #culture #cultura #betterlife #betterliving #inspiration #food #healthyfood #olie #olijfolie #huiledolive #howitalyfeels #slowliving
Inspiration! Because I know how many fellow picklers and fermenters there are out there! @pantanellosicily #italianoliveoil #evolovers #sicilianfood #oliveoil #olio #olioevo #noto #pantanellooliveoil #sicilia #sicily #oliveoil #nature #natura #culture #cultura #betterlife #betterliving #inspiration #food #healthyfood #olie #olijfolie #huiledolive #howitalyfeels #slowliving #橄榄油 #オリーブオイル
Family Christmas: a slow start and then a walk, a swim (for the brave) and a lie in the sunshine in the beach. When we came home I walked through the valley and picked arms of sage, rosemary, purple flowering heather, myrtle, pine and olive sprigs and walked home as darkness fell to arrange them in different rooms in the house. Dinner was candlelit and the table decoration was the greens, yellows, oranges and red of all the citrus fruits and their leaves. This year our boys have decided that they really love cedro, having being always a little cautious with it in years gone by. Now they pick it from the trees and eat it like an apple. So here it is on last night’s table, soaking up the olive oil like a big sponge and balancing out the meat with its absolute freshness. ❤️♥️ @pantanellosicily #italianoliveoil #evolovers #sicilianfood #oliveoil #olio #olioevo #noto #pantanellooliveoil #sicilia #sicily #oliveoil #nature #natura #culture #cultura #betterlife #betterliving #inspiration #food #healthyfood #olie #olijfolie #huiledolive #howitalyfeels #slowliving
Winter is the season to sit on the balcony and look out across the green/ blue hills to the sea in the distance. The sun is not too strong now and as you sit you are enveloped by the jasmine flowers which grow strong all around. Pick a small basket of the flowers (the more you have the stronger it is) and steep them overnight in water. In the morning strain and discard the flowers. The water will now have taken on the jasmine flavour and can be drank as it is or used as the base for puddings, sherbets and cocktails. I promise it is heavenly. xx Photo: @samirakafala @pantanellosicily #italianoliveoil #evolovers #sicilianfood #oliveoil #olio #olioevo #noto #pantanellooliveoil #sicilia #sicily #oliveoil #nature #natura #culture #cultura #betterlife #betterliving #inspiration #food #healthyfood #olie #olijfolie #huiledolive #howitalyfeels #slowliving
Interspersed through the olive trees are many myrtle bushes growing throughout the farm, both white and black. I love to fill the house with their branches in winter for their scent: that bright fresh green of the leaves and the beautiful berries. The first time I ever had an Italian porchetta was on a boiling hot evening at a summer party in Panarea, in the house of an old man who had been a sailor. He had cooked the meat all day to perfection and then laid it to rest on a bed of myrtle. Its scent, emanating from that crumbling perfect meat was something I will never forget, even though it seemed like madness to be eating something so heavy in that crazy heat! Now each winter when we are in Sicily I repeat the porchetta, cooked in the wood-fired bread oven and then laid on the myrtle while warm to rest and work its magic. Our family tradition at Christmas. Photo: @samirakafala @pantanellosicily #italianoliveoil #evolovers #sicilianfood #cookinginsicily #oliveoil #olio #olioevo #noto #pantanellooliveoil #sicilia #sicily #oliveoil #nature #natura #culture #cultura #betterlife #betterliving #inspiration #food #healthyfood #olie #olijfolie #huiledolive #howitalyfeels #slowliving #christmascooking
Some of the oregano that is currently making it’s way into our orders of the fresh olio nuovo. The taste is divine, I promise you! Try it sprinkled simply onto freshly baked bread and drizzled of course with @pantanellosicily. #italianoliveoil #evolovers #sicilianfood #cookinginsicily #oliveoil #olio #olioevo #noto #pantanellooliveoil #sicilia #sicily #oliveoil #nature #natura #culture #cultura #betterlife #betterliving #inspiration #food #healthyfood #olie #olijfolie #huiledolive #howitalyfeels #slowliving #olionuovo
People think of Sicily as a summer place, but for me the magic really fully comes to life in the winter, when the fresh green grass reaches your knees, the streams are filled with fast running water and the citrus trees bob about straining under the weight of their steadily ripening fruits. #italianoliveoil #evolovers #sicilianfood #cookinginsicily #oliveoil #olio #olioevo #noto #pantanellooliveoil #sicilia #sicily #oliveoil #nature #natura #culture #cultura #betterlife #betterliving #inspiration #food #healthyfood #olie #olijfolie #huiledolive #howitalyfeels #slowliving #olionuovo
Pantanello Olio Nuovo is ready to ship!! Our olio nuovo was harvested in the first week of October, it is an extremely fresh and green, pungent olive oil, which combines tastes of fresh hay, artichoke and cut grass. It is extremely healthy, filled with anti-oxidants and anti carcinogenic polyphenols - up to eight times more an average olive oil. Olio nuovo is the very first olive oil of the year and fresh as can be. Its taste transforms your cooking, with a mixture of fresh hay, rich full-fat cream, intense green and the kick of black pepper combined. As much as it is fresh, the olio nuovo is also short-lived. From January the oil settles in the bottles and the colour turns more golden than green. Whilst it mellows, the pepper-kick never leaves the oil entirely. Buy it now as a present for yourself or a foodie-friend, for someone who really values pure foods grown and produced in the way they should be. And enjoy it! #italianoliveoil #evolovers #sicilianfood #cookinginsicily #oliveoil #olio #olioevo #noto #pantanellooliveoil #sicilia #sicily #oliveoil #nature #natura #culture #cultura #betterlife #betterliving #inspiration #food #healthyfood #olie #olijfolie #huiledolive #howitalyfeels #slowliving #olionuovo
Pantanello Olio Nuovo is ready to ship!! www.pantanello.com Our olio nuovo was harvested in the first week of October, it is an extremely fresh and green, pungent olive oil, which combines tastes of fresh hay, artichoke and cut grass. It is extremely healthy, filled with anti-oxidants and anti carcinogenic polyphenols - up to eight times more an average olive oil. Olio nuovo is the very first olive oil of the year and fresh as can be. Its taste transforms your cooking, with a mixture of fresh hay, rich full-fat cream, intense green and the kick of black pepper combined. As much as it is fresh, the olio nuovo is also short-lived. From January the oil settles in the bottles and the colour turns more golden than green. Whilst it mellows, the pepper-kick never leaves the oil entirely. Buy it now as a present for yourself or a foodie-friend, for someone who really values pure foods grown and produced in the way they should be. And enjoy it! #italianoliveoil #evolovers #sicilianfood #cookinginsicily #oliveoil #olio #olioevo #noto #pantanellooliveoil #sicilia #sicily #oliveoil #nature #natura #culture #cultura #betterlife #betterliving #inspiration #food #healthyfood #olie #olijfolie #huiledolive #howitalyfeels #slowliving #olionuovo
Saturday night fresh dipping @pantanellosicily #italianoliveoil #evolovers #sicilianfood #cookinginsicily #oliveoil #olio #olioevo #noto #pantanellooliveoil #sicilia #sicily #oliveoil #nature #natura #culture #cultura #betterlife #betterliving #inspiration #food #healthyfood #olie #olijfolie #huiledolive #howitalyfeels #slowliving #olionuovo
Saturday night fresh dipping @pantanellosicily #italianoliveoil #evolovers #sicilianfood #cookinginsicily #oliveoil #olio #olioevo #noto #pantanellooliveoil #sicilia #sicily #oliveoil #nature #natura #culture #cultura #betterlife #betterliving #inspiration #food #healthyfood #olie #olijfolie #huiledolive #howitalyfeels #slowliving #olionuovo
Saturday night fresh dipping @pantanellosicily #italianoliveoil #evolovers #sicilianfood #cookinginsicily #oliveoil #olio #olioevo #noto #pantanellooliveoil #sicilia #sicily #oliveoil #nature #natura #culture #cultura #betterlife #betterliving #inspiration #food #healthyfood #olie #olijfolie #huiledolive #howitalyfeels #slowliving #olionuovo
Sad news coming from the mass Spanish olive oil industry in today’s @nos news online about the harvests going down due to climate change and the resulting price rises and threat of theft. So far our trees are not affected by climate change, and I believe this is because of their age (they have lived through it all before and had time to acclimatize and customise to drought and heat) but I also fervently believe in the strength of the mixed plantings of trees and absolutely not in mass planting which only weakens plants and destroys ecosystems and the environment in the long term. At Pantanello you see this immediately. Our olives grow in the company of carub, almonds, pear, lemons, oranges and more and they love out their lives naturally with no sprays, no irrigation and surrounded by life in all its glory! If you want trees to stand the test of time you have to give them the best possible chance and allow them to thrive in the way nature has provided: all plants and trees need to be interspersed with many other species and varieties. Together they are stronger!! #sicilianfood #cookinginsicily #oliveoil #olio #olioevo #noto #pantanellooliveoil #sicilia #sicily #oliveoil #nature #natura #culture #cultura #betterlife #betterliving #inspiration #food #healthyfood #olie #olijfolie #huiledolive #howitalyfeels #slowliving #olionuovo #italiansdoitbetter
When walking amongst our olive trees and thinking about their age and wondering how things were when these trees were young, we often start to think more about time, and how so much and so little can change. Olive oil is to a large extent a reminder of this: these very trees have been around for so long and for so long have shared their existence with the humans that have cared for them, cleaned them, pruned them and lived from their precious fruits. When you live so close to a city such as Siracusa, you might consider time through the lens of the history of that place and the people that have lived there: For instance, did you know that Plato travelled three times to Siracusa in his life, with each visit ending in a near fateful disaster? In 388 BCE, aged almost 40, he arrived in Siracusa for the first time. Plato considered ancient Sicily the best setting for his idealized Utopia and it was in Siracusa that he decided to test his theory that if kings could be made into philosophers – or philosophers into kings – then justice and happiness could flourish at last. Today Siracusa - and especially its small island of Ortigia - is a quiet and extremely beautiful town without the debauchery, hedonism and violence for which it was famous in those years. It’s beauty might not turn us into kings, but I am sure that many of us has been tempted to feel a little more philosophical in the light of its combined beauty, history and culture. And so tonight I will raise my glass of Sicilian wine, and dunk my bread into some freshly pressed olive oil, and I will raise a toast to time and to beauty! #sicilianfood #cookinginsicily #oliveoil #olio #olioevo #noto #pantanellooliveoil #sicilia #sicily #oliveoil #siracusa #beauty #life #history #time #nature #natura #culture #cultura #betterlife #betterliving #inspiration #food #healthyfood #olie #olijfolie #huiledolive #howitalyfeels #slowliving #olionuovo
La Caponata: queen among Sicilian dishes and so good it is literally a cliché. The joy of Italian cooking is the flexibility. Every dish remains the same yet every family has its own version. It means that you can always experiment and find your own way depending on what you have to hand, how you like it and what mood you are in. In Noto many people add almonds to the caponata, and in autumn they will also add pumpkin. The dish changes its colours with the seasons and this always remains relevant and always delicious. #sicilianfood #cookinginsicily #oliveoil #olio #olioevo #noto #pantanellooliveoil #sicilia #sicily #oliveoil #nature #natura #culture #cultura #betterlife #betterliving #inspiration #food #healthyfood #olie #olijfolie #huiledolive #howitalyfeels #slowliving #olionuovo #caponata #homecooking #freedom #family #tradition
There is so much to discover beyond the immediate tourist spots in south/ east Sicily. Here is a photo from last week of the beach of Carratois, just outside of Porto Palo, looking towards the Isola delle Corrente and Italy’s southernmost point. In summer the waters here are crystal clear and perfectly calm and people justifiably flock to this beautiful sandy beach. To reach the beach it can feel like driving to the end of the world: taking tiny roads surrounded by plastic greenhouses in which the famous ‘pachini’, or cherry tomatoes of this region are grown. Down the road on Porto Palo there are several delicious places to eat, La Scala and U Piscaturi being among them. I always try to imagine the day in WWII when the Allied forces landed here and started the drive northwards to free Italy. Slightly further from Porto Palo there is the town of Pachino with its equally famous bar, the Caffe’ al Ciclope where you can eat granita and ice cream to your heart’s content. 🍦🍨🍧 #portopalo #caffealciclope #pachino #calacaratois #caratois #pantanellooliveoil #sicily #sicilia #beachlife
Of course we want the best for ourselves, our family and friends, and of course we also we want to make and share delicious foods that sustain our bodies and the environment. If you care for these things, then most likely olive oil is already at the centre of your cooking and thus at the heart of nourishing those you love and those closest to you. Always choose an organic Extra-Virgin olive oil, and - to really be sure of where it comes from - make sure it has that D.O.P certificate also on the bottle. Pantanello is an Organic, Extra Virgin and D.O.P certified olive oil: at no point in their life have our olive trees been treated with chemical pesticides or fertilizers. Pantanello olives are hand-picked and cold-pressed. Extra-Virgin signifies an olive oil of the highest standard of purity, one with high levels of anti-oxidants, which are compounds that help to fight inflammation and chronic diseases such as cancer within the body. Our trees, leaves, soil and olive oil are D.O.P certified: they are tested and checked in the laboratory as a means to ensure that our olives come from this place, and no where else. We are serious about being a consciously uncontaminated product and an olive oil you can love for all the right reasons. Link in our bio to shop. 🕊️ #sicilianfood #cookinginsicily #oliveoil #olio #olioevo #noto #pantanellooliveoil #sicilia #sicily #oliveoil #nature #natura #culture #cultura #betterlife #betterliving #inspiration #food #healthyfood #olie #olijfolie #huiledolive #howitalyfeels #slowliving #rightchoice #consciousness #consciousconsumer #trust
Whilst the rest of the world switches off during the month of August, for so many farming Sicilians this month marks the start of the most intense working months of the year. Starting at 5 am and working through to midday (after which it is simply too hot to work) the carob and almond harvests both begin in August and end towards the end of September with the olives. At Pantanello all are hand harvested without mechanical aids: I can tell you, this work is not for the faint hearted! As a friend just reminded me, “for Sicilians, summer is about prosperity and fertility, but they do not come from nothing!” As soon as the almonds have been batted down from the trees, gathered and laid out to dry in the sun for a few days the olive harvest begins. As with all farming work the timings depend on the seasons and the weather: some light summer rain is perfect to finish the olives towards the end of the long, hot summer. The rain plumps up the olives before picking, it is as if they are relaxing and getting ready to leave the mother tree for new adventures! #sicilianfood #cookinginsicily #oliveoil #olio #olioevo #noto #pantanellooliveoil #sicilia #sicily #oliveoil #nature #natura #culture #cultura #betterlife #betterliving #inspiration #food #healthyfood #olie #olijfolie #huiledolive #howitalyfeels #slowliving
At Pantanello you will find multitude of trees and plants that are native to Sicily and can this withstand threats and stress caused by ecological change. Our olive, pistachio, carub and oak trees mingle with pear, plum, myrtle and almond trees, with clumps of wild lily, gladioli, fennel, roses, wild carrot, lathyrus, wild herbs and many more growing amongst them. We call it safety in numbers: biodiversity. #pantanellooliveoil #wildlife #sicilia #sicily #faithinnature #flowers #oliveoil #climatecrisis #nature #natura #culture #cultura #biodiversity #ecologicalchange #betterlife #betterliving #inspiration #green #eco #sustainable #food #healthyliving #healthyfood #olie #olijfolie #noto
Sicily has many native trees, and though they were introduced by the Greeks some 10,000 years ago (and so technically, are not autochthonous as a species), olive trees have been around for so long they really may as well fall into the same bracket. The pruning, cleaning, harvesting and understanding of trees has traditionally been a knowledge passed down within families and small communities through generations: it is but one form of an intangible cultural heritage. A healthy and well-cared for olive tree might last anything from ten to fifteen or more generations, each year giving back to the people that care for it with oil, fuel, shade and - dare I say it - companionship. By default, the traditional ways of caring for native plant and tree species is a knowledge of how to enable nature to best withstand climate change and the stress that accompanies it. Sicilians know very well that their traditional ways of working support ecological balance, rural employment, identity and pride and quite rightly they take great pride in this. So when people ask why it matters so much to us that our trees are cared for by hand, when it is so much more expensive and time consuming than bringing in the big machinery to do the job for us, this is our response. Thankfully we are not alone in this belief! #sicilianfood #cookinginsicily #arabiccooking #arabicfood #arabichistory #oliveoil #olio #olioevo #noto #pantanellooliveoil #sicilia #sicily #oliveoil #nature #natura #culture #cultura #betterlife #betterliving #inspiration #food #healthyfood #olie #olijfolie #huiledolive #howitalyfeels #intangibleculturalheritage #heritage #heritage_italy