Situated in northern Tuscany, the province of Pistoia has a long tradition of peasant cooking. Sweet chestnuts were ground to make flour, sheep’s milk was turned into pecorino cheese, and mushrooms and wild fruits were picked from the forests. Beans, as in the rest of Tuscany, have also long featured prominently in the local cuisine and take centre stage in this hearty dish which makes a great supper on a chilly winter’s night. The recipe, which appears here with permission, comes from Tuscany (pub. Phaidon £24.95), a cookbook filled with 50 recipes from various corners of the region. Called ‘farinata’, it’s not to be confused with the farinata of Liguria, which is a chickpea flour crepe. You’ll need to soak the beans overnight and allow 3½ hours for the dish to cook. Fast food it isn’t – and all the better for it.
Farinata – Recipe
Ingredients - Serves 6
- 250 g (scant 1 ½ cups) dried borlotti beans, soaked overnight in water to cover and drained
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled
- 2 sage leaves
- 100 g (3 ½ oz) cavolo nero cabbage
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 carrot, chopped
- ½ celery stalk, chopped
- ½ onion, thinly sliced
- 2 large ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
- 150 g (1 cup) polenta
- 4 tablespoons grated pecorino cheese
- salt and pepper
Method
- Put the beans into a large pan and pour in water to cover. Bring to a boil and boil vigorously for 15 minutes, then drain and return to the pan. Add 1 garlic clove and the sage, pour in 2 litres (8 ¾ cups) water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 1½ – 2 hours, until tender, seasoning with salt towards the end of the cooking time.
- Meanwhile, bring a pan of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the cabbage and simmer for 5 minutes, then drain and chop.
- When the beans are tender remove the pan from the heat. Remove and discard the sage and garlic. Drain, reserving the cooking liquid, and press half the beans through a sieve (sifter) into a bowl.
- Chop the remaining garlic. Heat the olive oil in a large pan. Add the carrot, celery, onion, tomatoes and second clove of garlic and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes, until softened.
- Stir in 400 ml (1¾ cups) of the reserved cooking liquid, the bean purée, the remaining whole beans and the cabbage. Simmer for 30 minutes.
- Pour 1 litre (4¼ cups) of the remaining reserved cooking liquid into the pan, season with salt and pepper and sprinkle in the polenta. Cook, stirring constantly and adding more cooking liquid or water if necessary, for 40 minutes, until thickened and cooked through. Stir in the pecorino, ladle into individual serving bowls and serve immediately. The farinata is also excellent served cold.
Now try this recipe for Courgette Flower Tart from the Maremma.
Rebecca Ford - I'm a UK based freelance travel writer and photographer - and the country I most like to visit is Italy. That's not just because of the ...
