jill dupleix's white bean polpettine

Despite having been bought on Saturday - so in theory at least four days old - we're still riffing on farmer's market veg today, which is looking much fresher and perkier than anything we picked up in Waitrose a day later. Could it be the key to freshness is not sitting in a sealed bag full of argon? Who would've thought...

Polpettine tonight, mainly because we've got some salami lurking in the fridge that could do with disappearing, and also so we can use up the salad in an attempt to assuage our growing addiction the fig and chilli dressing.

As time goes by, I've realised the key with polpettine is not to make them too big, otherwise they don't hold together in the pan, and not to have the pan too hot otherwise the outside burns whilst the inside remains claggy and cold. Top tips there, you can have them for free.

wine time
I think we're still in super crisp white territory here; there's not a huge amount of salami to warrant getting a red in, and you've got to balance the mouth-coating qualities of the cannellini beans. Sauvs, Chenins, white riojas would all be fine, but I'm tempted to go with a super-dry Provencal rose, mainly because I can: It's combination of acidity and red fruit, would be ideal, particularly if you luck out and get a bigger-than-anticipated chunk of salami.

sources
white bean polpettine - Jilly D, the Parsley Book