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Cook
1h 5m
Ingredients
Method
Turn cooking mode on
Soak and cook the beans
1.
Soak the beans in cold water for about 12 hours or overnight. Drain and place in fresh water. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook until tender. Add salt halfway through cooking. Reserve the cooking liquor and set the beans aside.
250 g Fico di Gallicano beans
Water
Salt
Prepare the vegetables
1.
Strip the black kale leaves from their fibrous stalks. Traditionally, the stalks would be used for soup stock or fed to farm animals. Place the potato, carrot, celery and leek in a large pot with enough water to cover. Bring to a simmer. Add the chopped black kale. Vittoria uses far more kale than all the other vegetables combined, making it the dominant ingredient in the dish. Cook until all the vegetables are soft.
1 medium Potato
1 Carrot
Celery stalk
1 Leek
600–800 g Trassilico black kale
Add the beans
1.
Stir in the cooked beans along with some of their cooking liquor. Add the lard and allow it to melt into the vegetables. This enriches the dish and reflects the traditional winter preparation, when lard from making Biroldo was readily available. Continue simmering for 10–15 minutes.
Cooked beans
500 ml Bean cooking liquor
2–3 tbsp Lard
Prepare the maize flour
1.
Sift the flour first to remove the coarse semolina-like bran. Local cooks often remove this outer husk to create a smoother, more refined texture, though leaving it in gives a more rustic result.
300 g Maize flour
Make the Pitonca
1.
Bring 1.5 litres of water to a boil in a large heavy pot and season with salt. Slowly pour in the maize flour while whisking continuously to prevent lumps. Cook over low heat, stirring regularly, until a thick polenta forms, about 40–50 minutes.
1.5 litres Water
Salt
Combine
1.
Gradually add the cooked vegetables, beans and their broth to the maize mixture, stirring continuously. Continue cooking and stirring until everything is fully incorporated and the mixture becomes thick, dense and spoonable. The consistency should be firmer than a soup but softer than a standard polenta. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Serve
1.
Serve hot in bowls.
For
8
M
I
For the beans
250
g
Fico di Gallicano beans, dried (or other small white beans)
Water, for soaking and cooking
Salt
For the vegetables
1
medium
Potato, diced
1
Carrot, diced
Celery stalk, a few pieces, diced (without leaves)
1
Leek, white part only, sliced
600–800
g
Trassilico black kale, or Tuscan cavolo nero, stalks removed and leaves chopped
Cooked beans, from above
500
ml
Bean cooking liquor, about
For the farinata
300
g
Maize flour, or a good-quality coarse polenta flour
1.5
litres
Water
Salt
To finish
2–3
tbsp
Lard
You can batch cook this and make it the next day by cutting letting it set, and cutting it into slices and then lightly fry in a pan (and top with mushrooms or something else of your choice!).
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Made it?
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Cook
1h 5m
Ingredients
Method
Turn cooking mode on
Soak and cook the beans
1.
Soak the beans in cold water for about 12 hours or overnight. Drain and place in fresh water. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook until tender. Add salt halfway through cooking. Reserve the cooking liquor and set the beans aside.
250 g Fico di Gallicano beans
Water
Salt
Prepare the vegetables
1.
Strip the black kale leaves from their fibrous stalks. Traditionally, the stalks would be used for soup stock or fed to farm animals. Place the potato, carrot, celery and leek in a large pot with enough water to cover. Bring to a simmer. Add the chopped black kale. Vittoria uses far more kale than all the other vegetables combined, making it the dominant ingredient in the dish. Cook until all the vegetables are soft.
1 medium Potato
1 Carrot
Celery stalk
1 Leek
600–800 g Trassilico black kale
Add the beans
1.
Stir in the cooked beans along with some of their cooking liquor. Add the lard and allow it to melt into the vegetables. This enriches the dish and reflects the traditional winter preparation, when lard from making Biroldo was readily available. Continue simmering for 10–15 minutes.
Cooked beans
500 ml Bean cooking liquor
2–3 tbsp Lard
Prepare the maize flour
1.
Sift the flour first to remove the coarse semolina-like bran. Local cooks often remove this outer husk to create a smoother, more refined texture, though leaving it in gives a more rustic result.
300 g Maize flour
Make the Pitonca
1.
Bring 1.5 litres of water to a boil in a large heavy pot and season with salt. Slowly pour in the maize flour while whisking continuously to prevent lumps. Cook over low heat, stirring regularly, until a thick polenta forms, about 40–50 minutes.
1.5 litres Water
Salt
Combine
1.
Gradually add the cooked vegetables, beans and their broth to the maize mixture, stirring continuously. Continue cooking and stirring until everything is fully incorporated and the mixture becomes thick, dense and spoonable. The consistency should be firmer than a soup but softer than a standard polenta. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Serve
1.
Serve hot in bowls.
For
8
M
I
For the beans
250
g
Fico di Gallicano beans, dried (or other small white beans)
Water, for soaking and cooking
Salt
For the vegetables
1
medium
Potato, diced
1
Carrot, diced
Celery stalk, a few pieces, diced (without leaves)
1
Leek, white part only, sliced
600–800
g
Trassilico black kale, or Tuscan cavolo nero, stalks removed and leaves chopped
Cooked beans, from above
500
ml
Bean cooking liquor, about
For the farinata
300
g
Maize flour, or a good-quality coarse polenta flour
1.5
litres
Water
Salt
To finish
2–3
tbsp
Lard
You can batch cook this and make it the next day by cutting letting it set, and cutting it into slices and then lightly fry in a pan (and top with mushrooms or something else of your choice!).
Only visible to you
Made it?
Cancel
