Empanadas Fagiole

"Sometimes you just need a home-cooked meal," says Raul.

"Amen," says Drew who is just back from an exhausting rehearsal.

"And it practically cooks itself," explains Raul. "Just leave it on low for three and a half hours or until you finally get home." Drew confesses to a beer and a shot of Red Stag but his praise of Raul's astounding concoction smooths over any hunger pang-induced annoyance at the dinner delay.

Raul has made a fagiole sauce - a can of tomato paste, a can of Romano beans, a can of kidney beans, chopped onions, celery and red peppers, a handful of Greek oregano, and two slices of pre-fried pork belly ("basically everything in the fridge," he says disingenuously) - that he ladles over the leftover empanadas that are heated on the bbq because it is still too hot to turn on the oven. A layer of mozzarella cheese cushions the empanadas and it melts under the influence of the bubbling fagiole sauce.

Fresh chives from the balcony garden are sprinkled on a side of sour cream to add a spark of pizzaz to the proceedings. "It's just tacos," shrugs Raul.

"But amazing ones," raves Drew. "Sometimes a home-cooked meal is just the perfect thing after a long, sweaty rehearsal." 

"Or a long, sweaty afternoon in the kitchen," notes Raul.