Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

As you’ve probably figured out by now, I adore trying new flavours.  It’s my way of keeping my brain active (never could stand Sudoku), and I’m always excited when I come across something unusual to taste.

These jars of Italian pastes are definitely different to anything I’ve tried before!  The Purè di Fave is a fava bean paste, made from 95% beans, mixed with onion, olive oil, celery, salt and laurel.  The label tells me that it’s an Apulian tradition to serve this warm with boiled chicory.  We didn’t have any, so we tried it on toast (as you do).  It’s quite delicious – with a definite bean flavour and a consistency somewhere between loose mash potatoes and hommus.

The second jar, Paté di Lampascioni, took me completely by surprise.  The label describes it as a wild onion paté, with the ingredients list boasting 66.5% wild onions, combined with olive oil, garlic, capers, chilli, vinegar, parsley and salt.  But instead of the smooth, sweet onion flavour that I expected, the spread was bitter, in a manner reminiscent of rocket.  If, like me, you’re a fan of those flavours (rocket, bittergourd, witlof, I adore them all), then you’ll love this.  Pete, of course, won’t touch it with a barge pole.

When I goggled lampascioni, I discovered that the “wild onion” is actually a wild hyacinth bulb, native to Puglia, Italy, and renowned for its bitter flavour. There’s more information about them here.

As I said, I love trying new flavours! I can almost feel the synapses forming in my brain…