I don’t need to introduce Bud Spencer to my German friends because he was (and has continued to be) huge in Germany.

For everyone else: Bud Spencer (born Carlo Pedersoli) was an Italian Olympic swimmer turned actor.

In the latter role, he was one of my husband’s greatest childhood heroes as one half of the brilliant comedy-film duo Bud Spencer & Terence Hill.

Particularly, there are two movies – “Zwei außer Rand und Band” (“Crime Busters”) and “Vier Fäuste gegen Rio” (“Double Trouble”) – of which Harry can speak along Bud’s and Terence’s lines from the German edits start to finish.

Even now, as a (more or less) grown-up, he still enjoys watching their films. And I have to admit, they’re absolutely hilarious – at least in the German dub.

In two of their movies – the Spaghetti Westerns “Die rechte und die linke Hand des Teufels” (“They Call Me Trinity”) und “Vier Fäuste für ein Halleluja” (“Trinity Is Still My Name”) – a particularly hearty dish plays a minor supporting role, so to speak: bacon and beans.

You can find various versions of this dish online under the name I used above. Harry and I find the following the most appealing.

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What we need:

• 250g (8¾oz) diced bacon
• 300g (10½oz) cabanossi
• 2 tins of white beans
• 2 tins of kidney beans
• 1 tin of peeled tomatoes
• 250g (8¾oz) yoghurt (1.5% fat)
• 2 onions
• 1 pinch of salt
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp sweet paprika
• 2 tsp mild chilli powder
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• Olive oil

How to do it:

• Cut the cabanossi into thin slices.
• Chop the onions finely.
• Drain the beans.
• Compose the spices and herbs.
• Sauté the bacon and onions in a few drops of olive oil.
• Add the cabanossi, fry well.
• Add the tinned tomatoes with their juice, crush them well.
• Add the beans, stir well and heat through.
• Add and stir in the yoghurt and the tomato purée.
• Add the spices and herbs and spices, mix everything well.

This goes well with a delicious loaf of bread such as the “Zwiebelstange” (literally translated: onion stick) from our local bakery chain. 😋