The black lentils of the Enna hills: the recover of a jewel that risked the extinction
15/12/2015 - This lentil is an ancient variety typical of the province of Enna (Sicily), it is cultivated in Enna, Leonforte, Calascibetta and Nicosia.
It was very appreciated until the 50s, after the end of the second world war its production decreased, due to the local agricultural policy which promoted products whose production was easier to mechanize.
During this hole period the black lentil seriously risked to disappear and it has been produced in quantities of 100 to 400 kg each year.
In 2002 we were intentioned to start its cultivation and we only found 800g of seeds to plant!
Today our company is trying to recover this lentil and make it known also out of the regional boundaries, even if it will be very hard.
In fact the its cultivation is extremely laborious and all the agricultural techniques are hand made due to the plant physiology: the plant has a very short stem, almost at contact with the ground.
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For this reason it's not possible to mechanize the harvest and consequently all the operations that follows the harvest have to be hand made following the ancient agricultural tradition of Sicily.
Moreover this legume contains an higher percentage of proteins and fibers and less fats then the other lentils.
The black lentils of Leonforte sides well with fish dishes.
Our black lentils placed 2 among the italian lentils in the "Gambero Rosso" rank for the quality\price relation and reviewed in January 2011.
