Embracing the Solstice: L’acqua di San Giovanni and Pasta alla Nerano
By late June here in the Santa Ynez Valley, the sun seems to hesitate overhead, lingering just a little longer each evening as if reluctant to say goodbye. It’s the solstice—the longest day of the year—and in Tuscany, that means preparing l’acqua di San Giovanni. The water is prepared at dusk, on the evening before St. John’s Day, June 24th, by placing garden herbs and blossoms—rosemary, mint, lavender, fennel, calendula, roses, and wildflowers —into a basin of water and setting it outside beneath the stars. By morning, the water is softly fragrant, cool, and dreamy. Brought up and onto the face in the morning, it makes for an exhilarating and promising start to a summer’s day.
Although we love our summers for their slower pace and lazy afternoons, mother nature is running at full steam. The grove, the garden, the fruiting vines—everything is working quietly and intensely. So while our grove might seem still from a distance, it is in fact in the midst of its most dynamic and precarious stage: when our olives are transitioning from flower to fruit.
At this point, whatever flowers survived any late frost, early heat, or excessive wind, are now setting fruit. Each of our varieties moves on its own timeline towards pit-hardening: The Frantoio are slightly ahead of our Nocellara del Belice this year, while the Coratina are holding tight to their early fruit, and the Cerasuola seem to be already exhibiting their characteristic rosy hue. Once the stone inside the olive begins to form, the fruit has effectively committed itself to the season ahead. From now through fall, our work is to steward that progress - to protect it as it develops into what will give us the oil we so readily anticipate.
Much of that stewardship involves protecting the fruit from everything else that wants it as badly as we do. Managing pests, beginning with the olive fly, is a crucial task. We coat the trees in a fine layer of kaolin clay, which masks the sight of the olives and confuses the insect’s search for a host. It doesn’t kill; it deters - an organic solution that preserves the health of our ecosystem, while protecting our crop. We monitor closely for blights like peacock spot and verticillium wilt, especially in the pockets of the grove where humidity gathers. We manage the soil carefully—not just keeping it covered, but alive, aerated, and microbially healthy, because the relationship between roots and fruit is more direct than most people realize. And we trim suckers, those vertical shoots that spring up with force from the base of the tree. Left to grow, they draw energy away from the canopy and inhibit unproductive growth. None of this is complicated, but none of it is casual either.
In our garden, the zucchini are coming in strong. The tomatoes are still green on the vine, but the stone fruits are swelling and the garden feels like it could burst open by late afternoon. We like to pick the zucchini small and dense, when they are perfectly suited for Pasta alla Nerano. It’s a dish from the Amalfi Coast, first served in a restaurant in the village of Nerano in the 1950s, and more recently popularized by a deeply-enamored Stanley Tucci. Zucchini sliced thin and fried in olive oil, then blended into a loose sauce with pasta water, provolone, and basil until everything emulsifies into something silky and soft-edged. We like it with our Meridione oil, which has a clean bitterness and a green almond note that plays beautifully against the richness of the cheese.
Until we can see summer’s peak in plain view, we’ll keep up with our early mornings, long days, and steady observation of our trees, which will make all the difference come fall.
Acqua di San Giovanni
Solstice water, or a midsummer reset
Ingredients
A handful of fresh herbs and flowers. Traditionally:
Rosemary
Mint
Sage
Calendula
Lavender
Wild chamomile
Rose petals
Fresh, clean water
A wide ceramic or glass bowl
Instructions
On the evening of June 23rd—or any warm summer night when the mood strikes—place the herbs and blossoms in a bowl of water. Leave it outdoors overnight, uncovered, somewhere it can catch both moonlight and dew.
In the morning, use it to wash your face, hands, or forearms. Store any leftover water in the fridge and use within two days. You can mist it onto linens, splash it behind your neck, or simply keep it on the table as a cool, fragrant touchpoint through the day.
There’s no single correct combination of herbs—just use what’s fresh, aromatic, and in season.
Pasta alla Nerano
Photo credit: Greg Dupree
A southern Italian classic built around zucchini, olive oil, and good timing
Serves 4
Ingredients
3–4 small zucchini, sliced into thin coins
350–400g spaghetti or linguine
Luretik Meridione olive oil
A small handful of fresh basil
100–120g grated provolone del Monaco (or aged caciocavallo, or a mix of pecorino and parmesan)
Salt
Instructions
Fry the zucchini in olive oil until golden, working in batches if needed. Let them drain on a towel and cool slightly.
Cook the pasta just shy of al dente. Reserve at least a cup of the cooking water.
Blend about two-thirds of the fried zucchini with a splash of pasta water into a loose puree.
Toss the pasta with the zucchini puree over low heat. Add a bit more pasta water as needed, then fold in the remaining zucchini, the cheese, and most of the basil. Stir until glossy and well emulsified.
Serve immediately, topped with a little more cheese, torn basil, and a final drizzle of olive oil.
The trick is to keep the sauce loose but not watery. The starch from the pasta, the richness of the zucchini, and the sharpness of the cheese do the work—you’re just guiding them.