Indecision, transformers & WISS

Increasingly I’m finding this time of year, on the very cusp of spring, strange, confronting and ever so slightly disorientating. I know this sounds weird, spring, as a youngun’ was always a time of joy, kicking the shoes off after school and heading to the creek, dam or other water feature. Now it’s full of dread as yet another year zooms past. What do you wear, eat, surely it’s not father’s day again? It’s like life is on speed, just tearing by, I’m not even confident enough to head out for the day without some warm outer shell and should I pack away the soup pot or bring out the salad bowl?

You feel the slight warmth in the air and look around to see all the winter’s jobs still wanting, a wheel off here, pile of rubbish there. You would have noted all the advertising running up to our day based solely around hardware shops and car accessories. Now I’m as intrigued at car parts and brushcutters as the next bloke and like many I stood in front of the Makita bus parked out front of Magnet mart just before dad’s day in thrilling embrace of both awe and amazement. This super sized, flash bus kitted out like a Republican presidential nominee hopeful was a true sight to behold. All these tools and machinery which for the world looked like a repair centre for the next Transformers movie, if fact the entire bus could well be the promo for the first movie of the second trilogy and in the split of an eye transform in a cybertronian and rage havoc on all the terrified and slightly jealous dad’s hanging around.

High on my list of potential gifts was a sleek looking bandsaw and mini-lathe, wow I haven’t seen any of these (or actually thought of needing them) since high school where we rampaged weekly through the woodwork class on these old machines without one thought of occupational health and safety or HACCP, which hadn’t been invented yet, making our rolling pins and warped magazine racks. If I could get my shed set up with this gear I could , well, cut stuff out, the wife would be in her own awe and amazement at my manliness but in truth, don’t tell anyone, what I really want is a new moulis de legumes to replace my 20 year old beaten up well used food mill.

Late winter, early spring is a rather dull time for fruit and vegetables, betwixt and between you could say, the exotics haven’t arrived yet and all you can really find in abundance is cabbage in all its forms; Kale; spinach; sprouts; cabbage itself; wombok what is that?; cavalo nero, no that’s still kale etc. They really don’t inspire a lot of thought when confronted with a huge display of them but seeing as the weather is on the change but still clinging to winter’s cold evenings an Italian bean soup is of the order.

For me it’s a cross between a stew and a soup, based around dried beans, this year’s olive oil which has just finished settling, maybe some home cured pork, (Actually to be exact Award winning home cured pork, aka Ravensworth country ham: top air dried class 2011 WISS  http://wineindustrysmallgoodssmackdown.blogspot.com/) the trimmings or bone from this winter’s project, the last jar preserved tomato passato from the back of the cupboard, you know there’s one left and then whatever is available, a big mix of leafy late winter vegetables. It ends up being a huge pot but will last the week, getting better and thicker, well up to a point and then it will resemble my next project KimChee. You can set up the outdoor setting with a heater and herald in spring in all its glory.

Tuscan bean soup with kale
Olive oil
500g dried cannellini beans, soaked overnight
200g piece of prosciutto, left whole
2 fresh bay leaves
1 bunch parsley, leaves and stems separated
2 red onions, diced
4 stalks celery, diced
1 tbsp dried hot chilli flakes (more or less)
1 cup white wine
6 cloves garlic, 3 crushed, 3 left whole
1 each bunch silver beet, cavalo nero, any other spinachy looking vegetable, stems separated from leaf
1/3 red cabbage, chopped
1 cup of chopped fresh beans (any will do)
700ml handmade tomato passato or two tins of diced Italian tomato
½ bunch basil, leaves only
Salt

Drain beans and rinse well, cast off any that are discoloured or weird looking, place in large pot with 4 liters of water plus prosciutto, bay, some parsley stems and 3 whole cloves of garlic, add a tbsp of salt. Bring to simmer, skim and cook for 1 – 1 ½ hours (Beans should be just getting soft not falling apart, cooking time will vary on age of beans) Remove the beans, reserve and cool, fishing out any flavourings and spent herbs as best you can.

In a big pan, heat the olive oil, more than a drizzle, like a couple of splashes, lots basically and sauté onion and celery until just starting to soften, add parsley leaf, chilli and chopped garlic, cook for a minute then add the silver beet stems plus any thick stems from the other leafy vegetables, cook until it just starts to gain colour, deglaze with white wine, reduce and add whatever tomato arrangement you chose, add a cup of the cooked beans.

Cook this down for about 15 minutes, until its nice and soft. Pass through a mouli back into the strained reserved bean cooking stock and bring back to the simmer, skim again if necessary, adding the rest of the cooked beans. Add red cabbage and chopped fresh beans along with the leafy bits you have left. Cook this for 10 minutes or until all the vegetables are nice and wilted and cooked through, season with more salt if needed.

To serve, toasted and garlic rubbed sour dough, more fresh olive oil, chopped basil leaves and a bottle of sangiovese, which is made for this sort of food. Want a good one, look for Greenstone sangiovese from Heathcote, a partnership between one of Italy’s greatest producers, Antinori, a UK importer and Mark Walpole, a Victorian viticultural hero. Shows how good this savoury variety can be when grown in the right location and with some serious dough behind it.