Every year, dozens of super delicious Zingerman’s favorites are featured in our annual Summer Sale. Both here in town and around the country, it’s become quite an event for food lovers—many of whom buy cases of their favorites! Check the Mail Order and Deli websites to see the whole list of specials. In the moment, here are some of my favorites!
Il Mongetto Anchovy Stuffed Peppers – If you like a light bit of spice and you like good anchovies, be sure to try these! I’ve been enjoying them for years now. They’re so good that popping a single anchovy-stuffed pepper in my mouth takes the quality of my day up a few notches. The Santopietro family, who started Il Mongetto many years ago, does remarkable work. The quality of the peppers and anchovies is top-notch. And the amazing extra virgin olive oil is sourced from the Tuscan estate of Alfredo Mancianti!
The Mahjoub Family’s M’hamsa Couscous – This is the couscous that redefined the category for me. Organic wheat grown on the Mahjoub’s farm, hand rolled into small pieces of couscous, then naturally sun-dried (as all pasta was 150 years ago). It takes just 12 minutes to cook and goes great with everything. It is amazing eaten simply—tossed with good olive oil and a pinch of sea salt. You can prepare it any way you would pasta, serve it as a side dish, or make a refreshing cold couscous salad!
IASA Spicy Pepperoncino– The special spicy red pepper from near the Neapolitan town of Cetara! Game-changing on pasta, on egg sandwiches, with mashed potatoes. There’s a bit of it in the new vegetarian Wheatberry and Pepper Burger at the Roadhouse.
ROI Olive Oil from Italy – A lovely olive oil on the lighter, more flowery end of the olive oil continuum, we’ve been offering (and eating) the olive oils from the Boeri family for over 30 years now. It sounds like a long time, but in context, we were actually late to the game—the family tradition goes back to 1890, and it’s run now by the 5th generation. They use only the tiny local Ligurian (Riviera) Taggiasche olives. The oil is especially great with fish and fresh local lettuce.
Gingras Organic Apple Cider Vinegar from Quebec – Most cider vinegar has barely any actual apple flavor. This one is the exact opposite. Made from whole, organically grown apples harvested just 45 minutes outside of Montreal, they are hand-picked and pressed solely for vinegar. The juice converts naturally over six months, followed by another 18 months of aging in oak barrels. We use tons of this at the Roadhouse for our whole-hog barbecue, but it truly goes great with everything!
Italian Noccioliva Hazelnut & Chocolate Spread– What the popular supermarket spread that also starts with an “N” and ends with an “a” aspires to, but never will be. Dark chocolate, lots of Italian hazelnuts, and extra virgin olive oil. On Bakehouse croissants, pancakes, French toast, gelato or just about anything. Super rich, luscious, lovely.
Domaine des Terres Rouge French Walnut Mustard – My favorite mustard, it’s made in the south of France and is exceptionally tasty! Finely ground mustard seed with a significant note of walnut. Great for everything from a ham sandwich to chicken salad to walnut vinaigrette.
And I would be remiss not to mention the Ortiz Bonito Loin Tinned Tuna – The biggest selling item in the Summer Sale, it is beyond belief for me how much of this top-quality Spanish tuna we sell. People love it. And for good reason. Ortiz does everything right to make the quality and flavor into something special—almost exactly the opposite of the American tinned tuna you get in grocery stores.
