“Cassolet”

Eastside Road, April 15, 2011—

A VERY SPECIAL DAY: the birth of Malena Sevilla makes us great-grandparents. We were going out for lunch anyhow, so made it a celebration, with Giovanna and a couple of old friends. We warmed up with Beans and Greens — braised greens, butter beans, salsa bagna cauda, and breadcrumbs — and Wood Oven Roasted Cauliflower with Calabrian Chili, garlic, anchovy, and breadcrumbs. Then the others went on to “Ligurian salad”, a variant of a typical salade Niçoise, while I had the daily special, “Cassolet.”

This turned out to be really quite delicious, and nothing like a cassoulet (barring the beans). Butter beans, good house-made sausage, greens, bits of ham and pancetta, onion I'm reasonably certain, discreet bits of bell pepper, with an egg broken on top, strewn with breadcrumbs, and cooked in the pizza oven, it was very very tasty. If Malena Sevilla had been on hand I'd have brushed her lip with a touch of the sauce and blessed her.

Arneis, Ceretto, 2009 (typical and refreshing, a favorite white of mine); Barbera d’ Asti, Oddero, 2007 (mature, nicely balanced, a little light)

• Santi Restaurant, 2047 Stagecoach Road, Santa Rosa, California; (707) 528 1549