Linda's Pasta e Fagioli alla Pavese

There’s a lovely old saying from Pavia (where I’m from in Italy): “Ris e faśö, la minestra di fiö, riso e barlånd la minestra di grånd.” “Rice and beans, the soup for children; rice and wild herbs, the soup for grown-ups.” It reflects the simplicity of traditional farming cuisine in the Pavia and Oltrepó area, where people cooked with a handful of seasonal ingredients, often gathered from the fields themselves. One of the classic dishes that many people from Pavia remember from their grandparents’ kitchens is pasta e fagioli. For me, this recipe is particularly special. My mum used to make it all the time when I was growing up, because it was a dish she ate herself as a child. I’m also very close to Gambolò, where the Borlotti beans are grown. The Borlotto bean from Gambolò has been recognised as a Traditional Lombardy Food Product since 2006. Every July, Gambolò also celebrates its famous Borlotto Bean Festival with a large risotto cooked in the town square.