‘Vintage’ Olive Oil in the Sabina
“The whole Mediterranean, the sculpture, the palm, the gold beads, the bearded heroes, the wine, the ideas, the ships, the moonlight, the winged gorgons, the bronze men, the philosophers- all of it seems to rise in the sour, pungent taste of these black olives between the teeth. A taste older than meat, older than wine. A taste as old as cold water.” Lawrence Durrell (1912-1990) Prospero’s Cell (1945)
Just as the temperature has to be right for the perfect olive oil, a genuine experience of the Italian countryside requires wandering a little off the beaten track. I visit the unspoiled Sabina region only a stone’s throw from Rome in the nearby province of Rieti, where the olive oil has a reputation as amongst the best.
My first glance from the train at the gently rolling hills and sun-baked soils offered a promising escape – just half an hour’s journey from Rome – the chaos of the city soon felt left behind. Once deep inside the Sabina, you might be forgiven for thinking you had been transported to Tuscany or Umbria to enjoy rows of olive trees, vineyards and sweeping green valleys.
The area is better known abroad than in Rome, my guide explains, as we visit Selci Sabino, one of a handful of locations gaining a keen following. English expat Miranda Goodman is originally from Derbyshire. She fell in love with the Sabina’s peace and tranquillity after spending 25 years in Rome and now runs a shop selling local handicrafts as well as an art gallery, where she provides tourist information and exhibits the work of local artists. Miranda is clear that she would not want Sabina to become “another Tuscany”, whose popularity has come at the cost of its character, yet is keen to let people know – especially Rome-dwellers – what Sabina has to offer.
The Sabina country is renowned for is its high grade olive oil. The ancient Greeks were aware of the quality of the olives found in Sabina and ‘the best olive oil in the world’ could be found there, according to Galen, the world’s first pharmaceutical doctor, 2,000 years ago. November is the climax of the harvest, when the olives are pressed and the first week of December s when the oil mills open for the presentation of the new oil. In Selci, the Società Cooperativa Selciana provides oil-tastings above the mill with the latest production. Some of the best oil in Italy is made and sold here at local grocers and shops. As we passed by, the machinery was being readied for the season and I learned about why the oil from Sabina is so highly rated. It was the first olive oil in Italy to be granted the DOP (Protected Origin Denomination) classification, a certification of status and authenticity given only to products made in certain areas with special characteristics.
Both green and black olives are used to make olive oil, which are characterised mainly by level of ripeness than by olive type. Oil harvests take place in late autumn when most of the olives are blackened by sheer oil content. Green table olives are less ripe and are collected earlier.The best oil is ‘Extra-Virgin’, the purest oil squeezed from the first press of the olives, giving it the highest nutritional content. Beware though: ‘Virgin oil’ and ‘Pure olive oil’ denote lesser quality – the former is also from the first press but has a higher acidity, lower nutritional value, and is effectively pure oil diluted with processed oil. Labels should indicate the qualities of the oil, which are controlled from grove to mill to bottling, with specifications on flavour, colour, smell and acidity.
I sampled some Sabina oil drizzled over wood-baked bread at the restaurant and B&B ‘La Vecchia Quercia’. I found it much richer and smoother than regular olive oil, and a real treat to say the least. I’m also told that the owner Anna Facioni makes 14 varieties of antipasti and Romans in-the-know come specially to eat here. Other Sabina specialities you might try while stopping for lunch, as I did, at a road side delicatessen, include all kinds of cheeses made from local cows milk, a variety of salami and traditional biscuits. Porchetta (whole roasted pig) from Selci is particularly famous, as generations of families have passed down the traditional recipe.
Dining out, there is a wide range of time-honoured Sabina dishes to choose from, including the famous Spaghetti all’Amatriciana – made with tomato, bacon and pecorino (sheep’s cheese) from the town of Amatrice, Fregnacce alla Sabinese – homemade pasta made with flour and eggs prepared in sheets and hand cut into diamond shapes and served with spices, black olives, mushrooms, artichokes, garlic and tomoatoes, and Pollo alla Sabinese – free range chicken browned with garlic and olive oil, salt and chilli peppers and flavoured with olives, capers and tomatoes.
Caroline Prosser
(Originally published in The Roman Forum magazine, Nov 2008)