Sabato Abagnale is a passionate man. Like so many people I know here in Italy who are passionate about the food and artisan products they make, he is open, full of information and bubbling over with enthusiasm for the products of his region, especially the San Marzano and Piennello tomatoes.
piennello tomatoes
I spend a few days with Sabatino and his family every August during tomato canning time and every year I come away with a tranquil sense that if these people and this food exists, all is right with the world.
separating and cutting San Marzano
Concetta, Sabato’s wife, washing the tomatoes
He sells his tomatoes under two name brands, “Il Miracolo di San Gennaro” and “Terra, Sapore e Fantasia”; the first you can get through Gustiamo at gustiamo.com, the second is sold at Eataly stores, not only in New York City, but also throughout Italy. (Yes, Eataly existed in Italy before the Batali partnership brought it to NY. It’s owned by Oscar Farenetti.)
Concetta & Michaela, Sabato’s mom
The tomato harvest and canning is an intensive process and takes place during 3-4 weeks in August. At Sabatino’s it’s all done by hand with industrial equipment, on a small scale in what is basically his backyard, with friends, family and neighbors gathering to help get the work done.
Michaele cooks the tomatoes for 15 minutes
then they’re put through the machine…
…which separates the skins & seeds from the pulp & juice
the cooked sauce fills jars halfway
perfect, raw tomatoes are added to the jars
lids are put on tight then sterilized
stacked into the cage to lower into the sterilizer
sterilized for an hour at 100 C
gas flame under the sterilizer
They’ll work 18 hour days, breaking for lunch and dinner, of course, until all the tomatoes are canned, processed and loaded to age for a month in the storage facility he’s built below the house.
this summer’s bounty
tomato sauce aging
One of the reasons Sabatino’s sauce is so great is the amount of time he allows it to age before releasing it. Look at the layer in the bottom of the jar, it looks like water but it’s actually the life blood of the sauce. That is allowed to concentrate and separate out, and then every jar is turned by hand to allow the lifeblood to be reabsorbed into the tomato puree. This year he estimates they’ll do 33,000 jars of San Marzano DOP, and I am proud to say I helped bring it in!