Last night I still had the cooking duty (joy?), so I asked Barbara what she wanted for dinner.  “Something with a lot of beans!”, was her unexpected reply.  So I perused Zuppa! by the Romagnolis, and used the inspiration to come up with my own version of  this cross between a bean and cabbage soup and stew.  Recently, I am making the dish first and then jotting down notes of what and how I did it:

I had already made a pot of the famous red beans of Tolosa, so some of those were left and ready to go.  I then cooked a pot of Vallarta beans from Rancho Gordo, a small, greenish-yellow dried bean which is smooth and sumptuous, to which I could add half a can of the black beans we always have in the cupboard.  The fourth bean is less available, but Idylwilde has some delicious fresh flat Romano beans right now, so I cut up some and added them to the mix.

The sofrito (as shown above) formed the flavor base of the soup.  Thinly sliced red cabbage from Lynn’s garden, plus corn kernels, canned Italian tomatoes, and herbs were all the other elements need for vegetables.  Cooked some sprouted brown rice and added that halfway through cooking the soup.  Sautéed croutons from a loaf of  Tuscan pane provided a little more protein and a lot of crunchiness.

The wine turned out to be something really special.  It was a 2011 Linne Calodo Problem Child, my first ZSM (Zinfandel, Syrah, Mourvedre).  Here are Matt Trevisan’s tasting notes from the website:

2011 Problem Child
72% Zinfandel, 20% Syrah 8% Mourvèdre

If you are expecting loads of fruit, mind boggling aromatics and a deft balance, then look no further. This is your wine. It really has never been a problem, just a fascinating trip of fruit, acid, judicious barrel use with quest of balance. (PS: I found it.).

Release Date: Winter 2013, SOLD OUT

I loved it, and so did Hank on Thursday night, when he came over to taste with me.  Too bad there is no more available of any vintage of this wine.  Buy more next year is the solution.