First off all I am devoted to Italian Food, and by extension, all Mediterranean Food. My reason for this evolves around the simplicity of Italian food. Once you begin to understand how elegantly simple Italian cooking is you begin to grasp an important part of the whole culture of food.

The discovery of a recipe by Marcella Hazan a well-known Italian cookbook writer, started me on my way. I came across the recipe in an article she had written for a now forgotten food magazine. In it, she sings the praises of something called “Spaghettini with Fresh Tomato Sauce”. * This recipe is posted under the title “Tilting at Windmills.”

The recipe uses only a few ingredients: Tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, and Spaghettini. When I put these ingredients together, producing a meal in less than 20 minutes, and tasted the result, I began my journey toward understand of the Italian way with food. How could such simple ingredients taste so fabulous? (Okay so I’m raving.)

Since then, I have repeatedly discovered similar recipes using available produce resulting in feasts fit for royalty.

I could go into flights of fancy over all these recipes but I will spare you…this time.

Let’s go back to my Italian dish of Spaghettini with Fresh Tomato Sauce. Along with the dish, I served a passable Italian red wine. Around the table, the comments began. You cannot eat this dish for the first time with out marvelling. The swirling of the wine glasses, the comments of delight start the conversational juices flowing. People talk about other great dishes they had had, who was with them at the time, related what was going on at that time in their lives. Next thing you know, a lively discussion about art, and Leonardo Di Vinci has everyone animated. Soon self-consciousness by cook and guests evaporates in the sparkle of the moment.

I did not spend an enormous amount of money on the dinner party. I did not spend a lot of time in the kitchen preparing the dish. I followed with a variety of cheese and some fruit, and more wine. Yet, everyone had a grand time.

Roast Whole Pig



This brings me to an occasion I was privileged to attend. An Italian born and raised wine maker Joe Busnardo, at Divino Winery in the Okanagan Valley decided to celebrate the end of harvest by having a pig roast. Again simple food. A pit was dug and fire laid in, and later in the ashes, the pig was roasted. Along with the pig every imaginable dish from simple salads to roasted vegetables, all smothered in olive oil were served with lots of crusty bread to dip up the juices. The pig took longer to cook than planned but no one cared. The host just poured more wine and pass around more antipasto. When the pig emerged to cheers from the large crowd, it was honourably toasted and then devoured accompanied by laugher and stories. There were no fights, no drunks, just a lot of people enjoying a wonderful moment under a warm autumn sun.

That is the Italian way. Everything starts, continues, and ends around food. The conversation begins with the food, circles out to art, politics, and Aunt Mary’s running off with the local Butcher, and back around to the food.

A Thousand Days in Tuscany

Now to a book, I recently read called “ A Thousand Days in Tuscany”, by Marlena De Blasi. (I’ve all ready talked about this book, but I cannot say enough about it.)

To categorize the book is to diminish its profundity. Here is a book about food written by a food writer, which is transformed into a book about life, about our humanity, with penetrating views of the human condition, all the while, offering an ecstasy of celebration of life, good and bad. Yet, everything starts with food, either an outing to forage in the forest for truffles, or off to a vineyard to harvest grapes, or picking the first (weeds) of the season for a bitter greens salad. The act of gathering, harvesting, cooking leads forward to heart felt conversations about love, or hurt, or desire which dig deep into the psyche and reveal truths that are a marvel of discovery and passion.

Intermingled with the narrative are a few recipes, usually arising out of the bounty of a particular season. One of those recipes took me to a new level of simplicity yet a stunning pinnacle of taste. It was a recipe for beans, the dried kind you have to soak. Again, with simple ingredients, Pinto beans, olive oil, white wine, sea salt, rosemary, and sage slow cooked in a heavy pot for two hours, you end up with a water- into- wine, experience. I maintain there is no way for beans to taste so good.

You can’t duplicate this dish by using canned beans. This has to be made from scratch. The effort required is no more than that needed to open a tin of beans, but the result goes way beyond the little planning required.

For the most part, in these postings, I will talk about food; but food is life: From niche to macrocosm faster than you can sprinkle olive oil over a grilled slice of crusty bread.




Recipe

Braised Beans based on a recipe from A Thousand Days in Tuscany.

I pound of dried (you cannot cheat with canned) white kidney or cannelloni beans, I used pinto soaked over night.

2 teaspoon of sea salt. (If you don’t have it go out and get it, it is essential to the taste of this dish. Again, don’t cheat, the right ingredients are important)

I cup of extra Virgin Olive oil. (Don’t freak out. Do not, I repeat, do not reduce the olive oil, or try to use anything other than extra virgin olive oil.)

1-½ cups of water

1-½ cups of dry white wine. (No Whining, use a good quality, and don’t forget the cooks portion.)

1 large bunch of rosemary (you need to develop a friendship with someone who grows this herb. They always have more than they can use. Or grow your own…I see another idea there)

3 to four fat cloves of garlic, peeled then crushed. (Whacked hard but not to the point of breaking them up. In addition, use FAT gloves, (not those tiny little slivers of things), like the big bursting out all over type of garlic clove. (Don’t worry the garlic dissolves into the sauce.)

A good handful of fresh sage leaves (do not use dry) I actually used savoury because my dog had dug up my sage.

2 teaspoons of sea salt (same lecture, get the sea salt)

Okay so the beans have soaked over night. Now drain them and put them in a kettle with enough cold water to cover them, add the sea salt (2 teaspoons), bring to a boil, and then lower to a simmer for and hour. Drain again. This time use a very heavy pot. Preferably, a cast iron enamel coated one. If you don’t have a suitable pot, borrow one from a friend and promise them a taste. The pot needs a heavy lid. Throw in the beans the water, olive oil, wine, rosemary, garlic, sage, and sea salt. Stir. Cover, and then simmer them over low for two hours. Stir occasionally and continue to cook, (it will take all of those two hours.) Find a piece of wood or leather to bite down on once the aroma begins to waft through your house.

Eventually the beans become creamy. About 1-½ hours in this starts to happen. In two hours, the beans will be creamy but still together. I served the beans in a bowl with a piece of grilled crusty bread, sprinkled with olive oil, and dusted with some sea salt.

Get ready to die and go to heaven.

Nick

 

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