Italy: Boletti Beans

 Country:Italy (and the USA?)

Story: I'm not really sharing a recipe with this post. Just a story, and a new (to me) veggie.  Since I arrived in Italy I've seen these beautiful beans in the market, and the local ladies loading up on them.  I had no idea what they were called, and was nervous as to what I might do with them.  They were clearly popular and I was envious.  Thank goodness for the Internet.

They are Boletti Beans, and don't they just steal the show for looks?  The ruddy stripes fade away on cooking, but the memory remains and I'm pretty sure they taste better for the memory.

They are great for all things you can do with beans, from baked beans, to soups, chilli, etc.  I cook a lot of bean dishes in the cold of Winter (or any time of year in the UK).  Here in Italy it's just not the weather for such a dish, so I just cooked them and tossed with Olive oil, salt and pepper, sat back and enjoyed.  They would be good tossed in a nice green salad too. Delicious!

Apparently they are 'difficult' to grow in the UK, and Italy is about the best you can get for them.  Something I didn't realize is that these beans are 'New World' and apparently widely available in the States where they are known as Cranberry beans.  I'll be looking out for them when I get back there.

Catlan Style Spinach

Country:Spain, Distinctly a Catalan regional dish, a Starter or side-dish

Story:   While I was in Pisa recently, I 'reached out' for contacts via my favourite Couch-surfing social network and was lucky enough to connect with Ariadna from Spain who described Pisa as her second home.  She is a professional translator, and grew up and lives in the Catalonia region of Spain.  When I asked her what is a typical Catalan dish - this was her immediate reply.  I've been desperate to try it and finally managed it.

Ingredients (serves 4 as side dish):

• 500g fresh spinach
• 2 cloves garlic (or 2 tsp of chopped garlic)
• 1/2 cup pine nuts
• 1 cup dried currants, raisins, or sultanas
• olive oil

Preparation:

• Wash the spinach thoroughly under cold running water, Trim or rip off the stems.
• Soak currents/raisins/sultanas (best in just boiled/hot water) while waiting for spinach to cook
• Steam the spinach (about 3 minutes)
• Remove from pan immediately and allow to drain thoroughly.
• Coat the bottom of a large frying pan with olive oil. Heat pan on medium and sauté garlic for 1-2 minutes. Traditional recipe calls for you to remove the garlic for use elsewhere.
• Add pine nuts to the pan sauté for 1 minute.
• Add the (drained) currants/raisins/sultanas and continue to sauté for 1 minute
• Add the drained spinach to the pan and mix well, coating with oil. Stir well and keep breaking up the spinach so you don't have one big lump.
• Salt to taste.

Variations

• The traditional recipes call for less nuts and raisins, but I really like the punch they both give so have increased the proportions; The exact proportions of the ingredients can be adjusted to your own tastes - this is just to get you started.
• Along with salt and sometimes pepper, some folks add a splash of balsamic vinegar at the end.
• Of course if you like garlic you can leave it in (I did, although it was a bit too dominant).
• You can substitute Fresh spinach for frozen or even tinned if necessary; If using fresh spinach you can steam it, or sweat it down in the pan with the other ingredients; I steamed it first and drained it as best I could before adding to the frying pan.
• Consider toasting your pine nuts first (separately) for extra colour and flavour.
• Pre-Soak the raisins/currents/sultanas in something special like a desert wine (half and hour should be plenty of time)
• Some folks add additional fruit such as browned diced apples into the mix.
• Can also add fried ham/bacon bits (would obviously then no longer be vegetarian)
• Optionally Eat with dried/toasted bread slice.
• Optionally mix in with hot cooked past as a main course.