A famous variety of lentils is grown in Santo Stefano di Sessanio, in the province of L’Aquila, which is also a Slowfood presidium due to its harvesting method and characteristics. They are a traditional product of the Abruzzo region and have very ancient origins dating back to the period of Roman settlement around the year 1,000. Even today, these lentils are still grown along the slopes of the Gran Sasso at an elevation of 1,200/1,600 m s in the lands surrounding what is known as “Terra della Baronia,” which includes the villages of Santo Stefano di Sessanio, Calascio, Rocca Calascio and Castel del Monte.
This is not just any lentil but a precise biotype selected in this area since time immemorial. Suffice it to say that the cultivation of legumes, and lentils in particular, in this area of L’Aquila is already mentioned in monastic documents from the year 998. Here it has found an ideal habitat of long, harsh winters and short, cool springs.
It is small and very tasty: a few millimeters in diameter, globular and dark, purplish-brown in color. Because of their small size and extreme permeability, Santo Stefano di Sessanio lentils do not need any preliminary soaking. They are extraordinarily tasty and the best way to appreciate them is a very simple soup: you have to cover them with water and add cloves of garlic scamici, a few bay leaves, salt, extra virgin olive oil and then bring to a light boil, with the pot closed.
Harvesting takes place between late August and early September: the plants are first mowed, harvested in small heaps, left to dry for two to three weeks and finally threshed. To celebrate the harvest, every year on the first weekend of September in Santo Stefano di Sessanio this famous legume is celebrated with a special festival during which it is possible to taste traditional peasant dishes.
