Le zolle
One of my favorite pantry items has to be le zolle.
Between Pacentro and Sulmona, le zolle are pickled garlic scapes preserved in olive oil.
May 28th was the first market day when zolle started to appear in Sulmona.
Sulmona is famous for its red garlic but I think the real star of the show is the garlic scapes that sprout from the bulb before the harvest. The garlic bulbs are ready to harvest between July and August but there is a delicious step that is crucial to the garlic bulb’s success.
The bulbs go into the ground in the fall and they slumber through the winter.
Once they awaken in the spring time, a stalk emerges as the plant tries to go to flower. If left alone the zolle, garlic scape, will bloom into a voluptuous flower. Blooming is an action that causes the plant to send all of its energy up and away from the bulb.
Garlic growers prefer that all the energy stays in the bulb, so they pick the zolle to do just that. Abruzzese are proud of their garlic and so fields are full in the region. Hence the reason why jars of zolle are lining the dispensa in the Pelgina valley like green gold.
If you want to play with all the gifts of garlic you can also let some of the scapes go to flower and create sculptural flower arrangements. These are one of my favorite flowers to collect during warmer days and I often add them to my bouquets.
I love garlic because it is functional and beautiful. You can flavor a dish, use it as medicine or decorate your home.
Summertime is my birthday season so it is a poignant moment for me to reflect. I always feel my internal world projected on to the plants surrounding me. Last summer I was looking at the wild garden in Sicily reaching up to the sky - plants in their fullest expression and spreading seeds to the wind. This summer I feel like a field of red garlic.
I have often struggled to understand my own work — is it meant to be functional, easy to define, “useful.” Or can it exist for the sake of beauty? Maybe it will lend itself to an area in between beauty and function? I used to be afraid of my “work” being only for the sake of beauty. I strived to always ensure my endeavors had a palatable “purpose” and clear outcome. Now I am letting myself send energy towards work that I think is beautiful and I no longer feel shame for that effort.
I find it calming to ask myself in which ways I am prioritizing my energy right now.
I am curious about you.
Are you focusing on sending energy up to a big flower at the moment? Do you need to conserve your energy below the surface? If so, are you pruning away metaphoric garlic scapes so energy can be redirected towards your heart, your purpose, your essence? Are you preserving those cut garlic scapes in anyway, maybe transmuting them into something new like a delicious zolle? Are you eagerly awaiting to braid your garlic so it can cure?
Maybe now you will look at garlic with new reverence.
The Italian American kitchen is almost distinctly defined by the use of garlic. If we were to break it down and study iconic dishes in Italy, garlic is almost concentrated only to the middle regions of Italy. Areas surrounding Abruzzo. It is not the most popular in the North, with the exception of bagna cauda. Of course garlic was originally brought to Italy from Asia and the Middle East.
I always thought it was so strange that the cooking school in Sicily didn’t have any garlic but the more I worked with the soil the more I realized it does not lend itself to the bulbs. The kitchen was also very informed by the French Monsù that cooked for the Tasca Lanza family and garlic was far too much a peasant food to show up on the menu. I actually got accustomed to eating dishes without garlic and omitting it in my own cooking. These days I mainly only reach for the zolle.
Zolle are subtle enough that I enjoy eating them as is with a plate of cheese or salumi, but they also are commonly blended into a cream that can be spread on bruschetta or sandwiches. One of my favorite sandwich shops for a quick panino in Sulmona, Morsi di Gusto, has a sandwich on their menu called the zotica absolutely worth trying if you are a zolle lover.
Zolle are honestly so perfect and I have no idea how they have not yet become a staple considering how much garlic humans eat. I imagine this mainly has to do with the labor involved in harvesting the garlic scape. Although it is a crucial step to the garlic’s plumpness, even large scale garlic growers are confined to hand harvesting the scapes. That means a long time bent over in the field, picking just the garlic scape of each individual plant.
Whether you grow garlic and are wondering what to do with all your garlic scapes or find a bunch of zolle at the market, it is so easy to make this quick pickle and add a fun condiment to your dishes.
Le zolle
1 bunch of zolle
3/4 cup of white wine
3/4 cup of white wine vinegar
salt as you like
olive oil to cover the zolle in their jar
Process:
Clean and cut the zolle into 8cm pieces or small enough to fit into your jar. Bring the white wine and vinegar to a gentle boil. Add salt to your liking.
Place the zolle pieces into the boiling mixture and let them cook under slightly tender but still a bit crunchy. Strain the zolle once you like the texture and then let them cool down and dry over night.
The next day place the zolle into your jar and cover them with olive oil. The flavor will slowly develop over the next week. You now have a delicious snack and garlic scape flavored oil to use when you are all done eating the garlic scapes.