Fagioli all'Uccelletto

The classic Tuscan bean dish: tender cannellini beans simmered with garlic, a generous branch of rosemary, sage, and tomato in good olive oil, cooked 'in the manner of little birds', the rosemary and sage standing in for the herbs that would have flavoured roasted game

Origin: Tuscany, Italy

From the journey of Rosemary.

Fagioli all'uccelletto is the most Tuscan of bean dishes, beloved of a people so devoted to the bean that other Italians nickname them mangiafagioli, the bean-eaters. The curious name, 'beans in the manner of little birds', is usually explained by the herbs: the rosemary, sage, and garlic are those traditionally used to flavour small roasted game birds, so the beans are cooked as if they were uccelletti. Whatever the origin of the name, the dish is a study in Tuscan simplicity: white cannellini beans, good olive oil, garlic, a branch of rosemary, a few sage leaves, and a little tomato, simmered gently until silky. Rosemary is the defining aromatic, its resinous fragrance soaking into the beans. It is eaten as a contorno beside sausages or roast meats, or simply with bread as a meal in itself.

Ingredients

800 g cooked cannellini beans (or 2 tins, drained; or 300g dried, soaked and cooked until tender)
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, lightly crushed
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
6 leaves fresh sage
250 g tomato passata (or chopped tinned tomatoes)
1 tsp salt, plus more to taste
0.5 tsp black pepper

Method

Warm the olive oil in a wide pan over medium-low heat. Add the crushed garlic, the rosemary sprigs, and the sage leaves, and let them sizzle gently for 2 to 3 minutes until very fragrant but not browned.
Pour in the tomato passata, season with the salt and pepper, and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes until the raw edge of the tomato has cooked off and the sauce has thickened slightly.
Add the cooked, drained beans and stir gently to coat. Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, adding a splash of water or bean cooking liquid if it gets too dry, until the beans are silky and have taken on the flavour of the herbs and tomato.
Taste and adjust the seasoning. Fish out the spent rosemary stalks if you prefer. Finish with a generous drizzle of raw olive oil and a grinding of black pepper.
Serve warm, with crusty bread, or as a side to Tuscan sausages, roast pork, or grilled meats.

Notes

Cannellini are the classic bean, but borlotti or other white beans work well. If you have the time, dried beans cooked from scratch (with a little rosemary and garlic in the cooking water) give a far superior result to tinned. Tuscan cooks often serve this alongside sausages braised in the same pan; for that version, brown the sausages first and finish them in the beans for the last ten minutes.

The Gastrographer

Name: Fagioli all'Uccelletto
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Italy
Ingredients: 800 g cooked cannellini beans (or 2 tins, drained; or 300g dried, soaked and cooked until tender); 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil; 3 cloves garlic, lightly crushed; 2 sprigs fresh rosemary; 6 leaves fresh sage; 250 g tomato passata (or chopped tinned tomatoes); 1 tsp salt, plus more to taste; 0.5 tsp black pepper

Mapping Culinary History

To explore — select an ingredient below.

To explore — select an ingredient below · click any location dot on the map for recipes and stories · browse the information panel on the right · trace the full journey on the timeline.

Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control