Beans cooked in terracotta
Fagioli beans have always been present in peasant cuisine, especially in Tuscany. The soil in this area is perfect for growing them, they last a long time after they are dried, they are nutritious, and they can be used in soups, salads, or on bruschette or crostoni.
This recipe calls for cooking the beans in an earthenware pot. If you do not have one, use a deep pot with a thick base so that they can cook slowly.
To avoid the well-known negative side effects of beans, follow one of these traditional remedies: prepare a tisane from dried anice, cumin, cardoon, and fennel to be enjoyed at the end of the meal; put the dried beans to soak the night before, changing the water two or three times, and cook them the following day; or mash up the beans and their skins with a potato masher.
- 500 gr Fagioli (either borlotti or cannellini)
- 1 cup of Delizie del Casale tomatoes
- 10 fresh sage leaves
- 2 cloves of garlico
- 5 tablespoons of Casale extravirgin olive oil
- 2 carrots
- 1 stalk of celery
- 1 red or yellow onion
- 1 laurel leaf
- ½ glass of Il Fante red wine
- Delizie del Casale Accecalocchi sauce
- Pork pancetta (optional)
LEVEL: Easy PREP TIME: 4 hours
- Pour the olive oil in the earthenware pot. Cut onion, carrot, and celery, into chunks and add to the pot. Add the garlic whole, without cutting. Saute’ until golden. Add the pancetta, which you have previously cut into irregular-sized half-centimeter chunks.
- Add the laurel, beans, the sage and tomato. Cover and lower the flame for 5 minutes.
- Add the wine, let it evaporate, then pour in about a liter of water. Cover and cook on low heat for about 2 hours, checking on them and stirring every so often.
When they are done, if the beans look too liquid, add some stale bread rubbed with garlic. Once plated, add a few drops of the spicy Accecalocchi sauce and a teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil.
This dish gets even better over the following days!
You can also serve the beans on grilled slices of bread, with garlic-sautéed cabbage. This dish is known as Crostone del Villano, the peasant’s crostone.
