La Dispensa: Beans and Legumes
Florentines are called MangiaFagioli... Bean-Eaters
La Dispensa is part of my memoir series, Simply Divina- Becoming Italian one recipe at a time. To get all the recipes and access to the archives, consider becoming a paid subscriber.
My ebook is also included as well as the 12 guides to the Markets of Italy.
It’s appropriate that my last post for this year’s project on becoming Italian, one recipe at a time, ends with one of the most essential ingredients in Mediterranean cuisine: beans and legumes.
This image of a man eating at a small trattoria is interesting as he is not eating beans, but rather fagioli all’occhio, black-eyed peas. Before the discovery of the New World, there were black-eyed peas, fava beans, cow beans, and lentils. On the table, note there is no fork. A bowl of black-eyed pea soup, raw onions, whole wheat rolls, and wine, and on the plate is a local specialty of Emilia Romagna, a Torta Erbazzone, a thin crusted savory pie with cooked greens. What surprises me is the tablecloth. Perhaps he is home, but would he take his hat off at home? I adore analyzing paintings to see what period they were painted. It tells us about everyday life and also hints about where the painter was from.
The other beans arrived later in Tuscany. The cannellini beans are mostly found in Florence. I like the small red beans out by Lucca, Fagioli Rossi, and the famous Fagioli di Sorano, a smaller white bean. One of my favorites, the Zolfino bean, comes from Terranuova Bracciolini.
I am passionate about bean cuisine, so Tuscany is a good place to live.
Eating lentils and cotechino on New Year’s Day is a tradition. I made beluga lentils, which I bought at the Genova market. Umbria is famous for the lenticchie from Castelluccio, which is the lower center photo above.
Cotecchino is a fatty salami cooked before eating. It is made with a large amount of pork skin. This is last year’s picture; I served the traditional spicy fruit mostarda on the side. If you have never tried it, it’s delicious. Sometimes, it is made with whole fruit. It is like a spicy/hot jam.
I usually have cannellini or another white bean and chickpeas in my pantry. I also have locally grown farro (emmer). Beans and rice are perfect proteins, and so many recipes for soups, stews, and salads combine them.
I will share some of my favorite recipes this month with my paid subscribers.