Lupini

nce upon a time in a place called Gubbio, there lived a BIG black wolf. A monstrous, vile and despicable creature who terrorized not only the eugubini citizens, but also the villagers in the surrounding countryside. Hated by all, nothing, and no one, had ever succeeded in ridding the populace of this menacing beast; he was feared to the point of hopelessness. To make matters worse, the wolf liked to flaunt his power by lunching amongst the locals at the Taverna del Lupo, or Wolf's Tavern if you will. Tucking into his usual meal of chops and a side dish of asparagus and lupini, it went on in this way, or so the story goes, until one day St. Francis told Mr. Wolf that he was living in the wrong fairytale, and that a lass in a hooded red cape was seeking work elsewhere - a reality show for storybook characters, perhaps?

Okay, so I got carried away and ad-libbed the part right after St. Francis - tune in Friday for the rest of the story. Still, I truly did learn of the yellow legume after seeing it mentioned in Er lupo de Gubbio [the Wolf of Gubbio], a dialect tale on the web page of Taverna del Lupo. The taverna is a fine Umbrian restaurant noted for exquisite truffle specialties and is listed in both Fodor and Frommer guides. Anyway, ever on the lookout for additions to supplement happy hour, I was surprised to discover that these are Lupin beans, a common snack food of the Mediterranean. Shopping the deli/gastronomia section spells trouble for me. Marinated fresh anchovies, cured olives, cheese... You'd think that would be plenty enough, but nooo, I had to try those lupini as well. Heck, the bad-ass wolf liked 'em.

All this talk for a bunch of beans? Well, just hold on because there's more. Reminding me of the much beloved fava due to its outer "skin", I smell a possible foodie trend here. Although there is no rule against eating them skin on, talented tongues (and non) should have no problem removing the exterior covering after making an incision with the teeth. As a purely lingual display of dexterity, I dare say that it's easier to accomplish than knotting cherry stems in your mouth.

---

Comments for this post