Rough treatment

The neck of the wine bottle goes immediately up to his nose. He’s checking for quality, but I can’t help wishing I was enjoying that first-popped complex combination of sour cherries and Mother Earth. But then the moment is lost as half of the bottle is emptied into the cooking pot, closely followed by the shredded carrots.

The finale to the preparation he executes with panache. He grasps a bunch of basil from the worksurface and roughly tears leaves from it, followed by what I imagine is oregano, the leaves of which he strips confidently back down their stalks.