It's been cultivated since antiquity and is known by more than one name, but under its most famous label, it is associated with a patrician family, a couple of religious festivals, some socialists, and one, rather unpleasant, fictional guy who discussed it in connection with cooking and a certain type of wine. What is it, who was the family, and who's that fictional "gourmet"?

yoopermike

fava bean, dr. hannibel lecter Dec 27 06, 8:57 PM

zbeckabee

Yup...that was my guess to...but, can't find a connection with the rest of it... Dec 27 06, 9:32 PM

skysmom65

Dr. Hannibal Lecter rose up, killed his creator, disemboweled him, ate his liver for dinner (with the requisite fava beans side dish, of course), then replaced Harris with a hack. http://www.epinions.com/Hannibal_by_Thomas_Harris_and_narrated_by_Daniel_Gerroll/display_~reviews Dec 27 06, 9:42 PM

Krammar

Fabius http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fabius Dec 27 06, 9:43 PM

zbeckabee

Aha...so it was Chianti. Dec 27 06, 10:36 PM

lanfranco

All right, I'll split the silver mace here, between yooper and Krammar, with a section to zbeck for mentioning Chianti. Interestingly, in the novel, the wine is an Amarone. The screenwriter must have come to the conclusion that the average moviegoer wouldn't have heard of it. Dec 28 06, 9:15 AM