Castelvetrano Olives Caponata

Toast a good slice of rustic bread for a heavenly Sicilian bruschetta with an agrodolce note. This Castelvetrano olive caponata tapenade is an explosion of aromas from the countryside. Hand-pitted yet crisp and meaty, add these to any sauce for some extra flavor, think chicken alla cacciatora, a lamb tagine, or Mediterranean baked fish. Pair them with tomatoes for a rich caponata pasta or pizza topping.

Grown and hand harvested in the Valle del Belice region, near the town of Castelvetrano, these are one of Italy’s most famous and prized olives. Each year, producer Lorenzo Piccione of Pianogrillo personally selects the best olives from his fellow farmers in the northwestern tip of Sicily. There, the warm days, cool nights, and breeze off the Mediterranean sea provide the perfect climate.  After harvesting, the olives are transported to the Pianogrillo farm in Ragusa, where they are processed following Lorenzo's recipe and completing the entire production by hand. For each batch of his olives with herbs, Lorenzo changes the recipe slightly, fine-tuning the herbs according to each harvest - the work of a true craftsman.