Sannicola Curly Pea

The Sannicola curly pea is called so because of the twisting vines that they grow on. It is a small plant, thick and compact. It flowers generously and produces a large number of small cylindrical pods bearing light green peas that are tightly packed and vaguely cube shaped to spherical, more or less compressed so that the peas are in contact with each other in the pod. They are smooth if collected fresh and more or less wrinkly once dried.Traditionally, this variety was cultivated in marginal areas with loose and stony terrain all over Salento and in particular at the foot of the rocky headlands, in areas exposed at midday but otherwise difficult to cultivate. The Sannicola curly pea, though, gave excellent results in both the quality and earliness of the product. It was the legume most sold from the area, ending up at the markets of Naples and Rome. Boats loaded with the curly peas left from Gallipoli and arrived at the port of Naples. After World War II and until the 1980s, it was the most cultivated vegetable in the area around the Ionic Sea. Then, the curly pea was replaced by other varieties, more resistant to diseases and larger than the small peas. For these reasons, for around thrity years, the curly be has been produced less and less. From 2000, it was placed on the list of PAT, Prodotti Agroalimentari Tradizionali (Traditional Agricultural Food Products).The cultivation of this pea has dropped in the last few years in a progressive decline. It is mainly confined to home gardens for family consumption. There are only two producers who grow enough Sannicola curly peas for retail sale.