Fagioli all'Olio con Salvia

The Tuscan way with beans: dried cannellini simmered slowly with a branch of sage, a clove of garlic, and a tomato, then dressed while warm with peppery new olive oil, the sage perfuming the pot from within

Origin: Tuscany, Italy

From the journey of Sage.

The Tuscans are such devoted bean-eaters that the rest of Italy nicknames them mangiafagioli, and sage is the herb that, more than any other, flavours their beans. In the classic preparation, dried cannellini or the prized fat sorana beans are simmered with nothing more than a branch of sage, a clove or two of garlic, and sometimes a tomato or a sage-scented glug of oil, cooked slowly and gently so the beans stay whole and turn silky. The most romantic version is fagioli al fiasco, beans cooked overnight in a wine flask set in the dying embers of the fire with oil, sage, and garlic. However they are made, the beans are dressed, while still warm, with a generous pour of the peppery green new-season olive oil for which Tuscany is famous. Sage is the constant: its camphoraceous warmth is what makes a pot of Tuscan beans taste of Tuscany.

Ingredients

  • 400 g dried cannellini beans, soaked overnight in plenty of cold water
  • 1 large branch fresh sage (8 to 10 leaves)
  • 3 cloves garlic, lightly crushed, skins left on
  • 1 ripe tomato, halved (or 1 tbsp tomato purée)
  • 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (the best you have), plus more to serve
  • 1.5 tsp salt, added near the end
  • 0.5 tsp black pepper

Method

  1. Drain the soaked beans and put them in a heavy pot. Add the sage, crushed garlic, halved tomato, and 2 tbsp of the olive oil, and cover with cold water by about 5cm.
  2. Bring slowly to a bare simmer, skim off any foam, then cover and cook very gently for 1 to 1.5 hours, until the beans are completely tender and creamy but still whole. Top up with hot water if they look dry.
  3. When the beans are tender, stir in the salt and pepper and let them sit for a few minutes to take up the seasoning.
  4. Discard the spent sage branch, the garlic skins, and the tomato. Lift the beans into a warm bowl with a little of their cooking liquor.
  5. Dress generously, while warm, with the remaining peppery olive oil and a grinding of black pepper, and scatter with a few fresh sage leaves.

Notes

Tinned cannellini can be used at a pinch (warm them gently with the sage, garlic, and oil), but dried beans cooked from scratch with sage are incomparably better. The dish is a contorno (side) beside sausages, roast pork, or grilled meats, or a meal in itself with bread. A branch of rosemary alongside the sage is a common Tuscan variation, and a little chilli is welcome.

The Gastrographer

The Gastrographer

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Ingredient originTrade or transit route
Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control
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