Venetian Stew
There is an old Venetian dish called, in dialect, Manai, that is the inspiration for this. And I emphasise the word "inspiration": Manai, which broadly speaking involves polenta with beans, bacon and local raisins, is the fruitful starting point for my pink-hued stew, with its beans and bacon and radicchio (my addition, but it does come from Venice), echoing the cinnamon-rose colours of the palazzi that line the Grand Canal. If you can, buy a good Italian can of borlotti beans as the juice they come in is usable; the gloop in cheaper supermarket own-label brands can be disconcertingly smelly and frankly unfit for consumption. Still, if the only beans you can find need to be rinsed vigorously, you will have to add more water to make sure the beans are covered as they cook. That in turn will make for a runnier stew, so maybe mash some of the beans at the end just to help thicken it. I adore this salty stew ladled in bowls over a mounded pile of sweet yellow polenta. Or you could consider the Mock Mash, though some unsalty Italian bread with it is enough for me; either way, this is a pretty well instant, soothing and substantial supper.
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