farrecchiata: polenta di roveja

November 25, 2023March 5, 2026 | Simona

farrecchiata / roveja — a personal take on a traditional Umbrian dish
(dish by @fem_pottery, placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO)

Our current Cook the Books Club selection is The City Baker’s Guide to Country Living by Louise Miller¹. The novel tells the story of Olivia Rawlings, pastry chef in an exclusive club in Boston, who, after losing her job, takes refuge in the town of Guthrie, Vermont. The connection to Guthrie is her friend Hannah, who lives there with her husband.

Olivia is hired as pastry chef at the local inn and quickly gets involved in town’s activities. She also meets a number of residents, a colorful cast deftly described by Miller. Adventures ensue, some in the professional field, others in the personal one. The seasons, particularly winter, play a role as well, with the traditions tied to them. The novel is an easy, pleasant read, possibly something to immerse yourself into during the upcoming winter Holidays.

As you can imagine, given Olivia’s job, there is a fair amount of food in the book, mostly desserts. I don’t have a sweet tooth and we don’t eat dessert at home, so I looked for inspiration elsewhere, namely in the weather: it’s cold in Guthrie in the winter, and it snows a lot. Growing up, my father would describe a cold day as “polenta day,” a not-so-subtle hint to my mother to prepare one of his favorite dishes.

roveja and its flou — rovejaa *(Pisum arvense)* and its flour
(dish by @fem_pottery, placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO)

Traditional polenta is made with cornmeal. In Valtellina, a splendid valley in the Italian Alps, polenta taragna² is made with a blend of cornmeal and buckwheat flour (farina di grano saraceno). In my home region of Umbria, the local legume roveja³ (Pisum arvense) is ground and cooked into a nutritious type of polenta called farrecchiata.

I brought the ingredient back from Italy and the reading inspired me to prepare the traditional dish, which I never ate at home as my parents were originally from the neighboring region of Lazio, so farrecchiata was not part of their culinary heritage. Neither was roveja, but I was introduced to it some years back and wrote a post about it.³

I make farrecchiata with my usual method for making polenta. According to recipes I read, the traditional way of serving farrecchiatia is with a simple sauce of garlic-infused olive oil and anchovies (alici). Much as I like anchovies, I did not enjoy the result. Farrecchiata has a slightly bitter note to be balanced, so for my next experiments I used my favorite polenta pairing: cheese (formaggio). That made my taste buds happy, particularly when I used fresh chèvre (caprino fresco).

Fundamentally, polenta of any type is a blank canvas that invites the cook to choose their preferred pairing. This is also the case for leftover polenta, which is firmer than the freshly cooked one, can be sliced and pan-fried, grilled or baked and enriched with the topping of choice.

Print-friendly version of briciole’s recipe for Farrecchiata with cheese

Ingredients:

2 cups / 480 ml cold water
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 cup / 3 ounces / 85 grams roveja flour
cheese of choice, to taste, crumbled, cut into small pieces or grated, depending on consistency
- I use crumbled Cypress Grove Meyer Lemon and Honey⁴: 1 ounce / 28 grams mixed in at the end of cooking plus to taste as topping on individual servings
Pour the cold water into a saucepan and add the salt. Slowly add the roveja flour in a thin stream, while whisking. Place the saucepan over medium heat. Continue whisking as the water warms up. As soon as the water reaches boiling point, turn down the heat to low to maintain a simmer. Keep stirring with the whisk for the first 10 minutes or so, then switch to a wooden spoon as stirring implement.

Cook the farrecchiata for 35-40 minutes, stirring often to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pan and to avoid the build-up of steam that results in bubble explosions.

Add the chosen cheese to the farrecchiata at the end of the cooking time, and stir to incorporate it. Serve immediately, possibly with additional cheese as topping or on the side.

Makes 1 1/2 cups. Serves 3-4 as a side dish.

I have served and eaten farrecchiata as a side dish, together with roasted or stewed vegetables. A particularly pleasant pairing is with roasted winter squash, whose sweetness complements farrecchiata‘s pleasant bitter note.

¹The book’s page on the publisher’s website
²From briciole’s archive: polenta taragna
³ From briciole’s archive: roveja
⁴ Cypress Grove Meyer Lemon and Honey

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post
http://pulcetta.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/farrecchiata-polenta-roveja.mp3

This is my contribution to the current selection of our Cook the Books hosted by Claudia of Honey from Rock. (You can find the guidelines for participating in the event on this page.)

The roundup of the event.

FTC disclosure: I have received the table linen free of charge from the manufacturer (la FABBRICA del LINO). I have not and will not receive any monetary compensation for presenting it on my blog. The experience shared and the opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own.

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farrecchiata (polenta di roveja)

una tradizione della mia regione d’origine (ceramica di @fem_pottery, tovaglietta di La FABBRICA del LINO)

Arrivati alla lettera R del nostro viaggio nel mondo degli ingredienti ho scelto di preparare un piatto umbro: la farrecchiata (polenta di roveja). Della roveja, dal 2006 Presidio Slow Food dell’Umbria, ho scritto in passato.¹ Confesso che non ho mai mangiato la farrecchiata in Umbria. I miei genitori erano originari del Lazio e mia madre faceva la polenta classica di mais. Durante una recente visita ho comprato della farina di roveja e finalmente ho preparato la farrecchiata.

la roveja (Pisum arvense) e la sua farina (ceramica di @fem_pottery, tovaglietta di La FABBRICA del LINO)

Le ricette che ho consultato descrivono una salsa di olio infuso d’aglio e alici sciolte per condire la farrecchiatia. Le alici mi piacciono, ma non ho gradito il connubio con la farrecchiata. Questa ha una nota amarognola da bilanciare. Quindi successivamente ho usato il mio condimento preferito: il formaggio (polenta taragna² docet). Il mio palato ha apprezzato, in modo particolare quando ho usato del caprino fresco di produzione locale.³

un piatto nutriente e che riscalda (ceramica di @fem_pottery, tovaglietta di La FABBRICA del LINO)

Ingredienti:
- 480 ml di acqua fredda
- 1/4 cucchiaino di sale fino
- 85 grammi di farina di roveja
- formaggio a scelta, in quantità a piacere, sbriciolato o tagliato a pezzetti o grattugiato, a seconda della consistenza
  - io uso caprino fresco sbriciolato: 30 grammi mescolati alla farrecchiata al termine della cottura, più a piacere sopra le porzioni individuali
  Versate l’acqua in una pentola e salate. Aggiungete lentamente a filo la farina di roveja, mescolando col frullino a mano. Mettete la pentola su fuoco medio e portate l’acqua ad ebollizione, sempre mescolando, poi abbassate il calore al minimo che mantiene un leggero bollore. Continuate a mescolare col frullino per 10 minuti poi passate ad usare un cucchiaio di legno.
  
  Cuocete la farrecchiata per 35-40 minuti, mescolando spesso per evitare che si attacchi al fondo della pentola e anche che accumuli vapore e poi provochi piccole esplosioni vulcaniche.
  
  Al termine della cottura, aggiungete il formaggio scelto e mescolate bene per incorporarlo. Servite immediatamente la farrecchiata, magari con dell’altro formaggio da aggiungere a piacere.
  
  Porzioni: 3-4 come contorno.
  
  Servo la farrecchiata come contorno insieme a verdire arrosto o stufate. Una combinazione che apprezzo in modo particolare è quella con la zucca, la cui dolcezza si bilancia bene la nota amarognola della farrecchiata.
  
  ¹Dall’archivio di briciole: roveja (in inglese)
  ² Dall’archivio di briciole: polenta taragna (in italiano, oltre che in inglese)
  ³ Cypress Grove Meyer Lemon and Honey (in inglese)
  
  Contribuisco la mia farrecchiata (polenta di roveja) dall’Italia alla lettera R di Un mondo d’ingredienti evento creato dall’instancabile Aiu’ di Trattoria Muvara
  
  FTC disclosure: Ho ricevuto gli articoli di lino gratuitamente dall’azienda produttrice (la FABBRICA del LINO). Non ho ricevuto e non riceverò alcun compenso per presentarli sul mio blog. Le opinioni espresse nel post sono interamente personali.
  
  Copyright © 2007 – 2026 Simona Carini. All rights reserved.

delicata squash stuffed with fagiolina del Trasimeno and leeks / zucca ripiena di fagiolina del Trasimeno e porri

November 27, 2018 | Simona

delicata squash stuffed with fagiolina del Trasimeno (cowpea) and leeks / IMG_1486

dinner, plain and simple
(linen by La FABBRICA del LINO)

The Cooking Gene by Michael Twitty¹, the current selection of the Cook the Books club, is a captivating read and a book difficult to describe in a few words: world history, food history, personal memories, travels all play a part in the story, which has an epic reach, encompassing centuries and large spaces, using the author's family tree as guide.

Even before reading the book, I knew Twitty is a great story teller, whether he talks about a specific dish or is inhabiting the lives of his enslaved ancestors. I understand his need to know, his stubborn following all the threads that tie his life to those of his forebears. It as a special kind of religious pilgrimage. Whatever your specific interests, you will find the book fascinating, as it weaves foodways into the quilt of people's migration, mostly (though not all) forced.

fagiolina del Lago Trasimeno / Lake Trasimeno cowpea / IMG_3057

white and "rainbow" fagiolina varieties
(linen by La FABBRICA del LINO)

While the book includes a number of recipes, I decided to mirror the woven stories and make something that would represent my own journey from Perugia (Italy), where I was born and grew up, to Milan, where I lived for almost 10 years, to Northern California, where I have been living for over 20 years. A special connection to the book is provided by fagiolina del (Lago) Trasimeno, a legume typical of my home region of Umbria, which is a cultivar of cowpea², Vigna unguiculata, closely related to black-eyed peas, one of the crops brought from Africa to America on slave ships. Besides being pretty, fagiolina is a pleasure to eat: tender, buttery and flavorful. I buy it at the Antica Spezieria e Drogheria Eredi Bavicchi³ in Perugia, one of my favorite stores in the world.

Growing up, I never ate leeks: my mother didn't cook them nor did any of my relatives. I "discovered" leeks when I moved to Milan, thanks to one of my roommates who made a killer leek gratin. When available, I purchase leeks at the farmers' market and can eat industrial quantities of the delicately flavored member of the allium family.

Candystick Dessert Delicata squash / IMG_1491

Candystick Dessert Delicata squash
grown by Shakefork Community Farm

Zucca is another ingredient that was absent in my early life's diet for the same reason as leeks. It appeared in some meals I had while living in Milan, since it is an ingredient of traditional northern Italian dishes, like risotto and tortelli. I would see wedges sold in grocery stores, but I wasn't a cook back then and the unfamiliarity always won. After I moved to California, I learned to appreciate the many varieties of winter squash and pumpkins grown by local farmers and I am always ready to taste new ones. Most recently, Candystick Dessert Delicata squash⁴, grown locally by Shakefork Community Farm⁵. Its thick flesh has a delicious date-like flavor.

fagiolina del Trasimeno and leeks / IMG_1484

delicate fagiolina meets delicate leeks

So here is my quilt dish: fagiolina and leeks as stuffing for delicata squash, with some fresh chèvre to brighten the combination (omit the cheese to make a vegan version).

Print-friendly version of briciole's recipe for Delicata squash stuffed with fagiolina of Lake Trasimeno and leeks

Ingredients:

1/2 cup / 3.25 ounces / 92 g fagiolina del Trasimeno (either white or rainbow variety)
1 1/2 cups / 350 ml water
1/2 small onion, halved
1/2 garlic clove
A small bay leaf
A handful of parsley stems
A 1-inch / 2.5 cm piece of kombu (optional)
1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
8 ounces / 225 g leek, white and light green portion, clean weight (set aside the dark green portion to make broth or stock)
2 tablespoon / 30 ml extra-virgin olive oil
Leaves of a handful of fresh thyme sprigs
Fine sea salt, to taste
A pinch of freshly ground black pepper
2 medium delicata squash: I used the Candystick Dessert variety
2 ounces / 56 g fresh chèvre

Note: there are four parts to the recipe. The first three can all be made ahead of time. The fagiolina and leek mix is enough to stuff 4 squash halves and serve 4 people.

Cook the fagiolina
Rinse the fagiolina. Add fagiolina and all the aromatics (ingredients #3 through 8) to the water. Stir, cover and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and let the fagiolina cook, covered, until it is tender. Let the fagiolina cool in the broth, then remove the aromatics and discard them.

Cook the leeks
Cut the leek(s) in half lengthwise and slice into 1/8 inch / 3 mm half-moons. Rinse well in a colander, then place in a bowl and fill it with cold water. With your hands, swirl the leeks to clean them well, then scoop them out of the water with a sieve or slotted spoon and drain them in a colander.

Warm up a cast-iron skillet, then add the oil. Add the leeks, stir well and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the thyme leaves and stir well and cook for a couple of minutes. Cover the skillet and cook on gentle heat until the leeks are soft, stirring every now and then. (The time it takes depends on how fresh the leeks are.) Sprinkle a pinch of salt and the black pepper and stir.

Add the fagiolina to the leeks and stir well. There should be 2 tablespoons / 30 ml of its cooking broth in it (drain the excess if needed). Cook for a couple of minutes, then take off the heat. Adjust the salt as needed.

Roast the squash
Preheat the oven to 375 F / 190 C. Cut a thin slice of squash to remove the stem, then cut the squash in half lengthwise. Remove seeds and strings (a grapefruit spoon is my favorite tool to do this).

Place the squash, cut side down, on a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat. Bake the squash 35-40 minutes, or until soft (easily pierced with a pointed blade).

Finish the dish
Preheat the oven to 375 F / 190 C. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat.

Crumble the cheese, divide it into 4 equal parts and distribute into the cavity of each squash half.

Divide the stuffing into 4 equal parts and pile it into the cavity of each squash half, pressing down with a spoon to make it stable. Bake the squash 12-14 minutes, until hot throughout. Take the baking sheet out of the oven and serve the squash immediately.

One of the nice characteristics of delicata squash is that, if not stored for long, the skin is edible. To eat the squash half, I slice it crosswise, then cut each slice in half.

¹ The book's website
² History of cowpea on wikipedia³ Antica Spezieria e Drogheria Eredi Bavicchi
⁴ Candystick Dessert Delicata Squash details
⁵ Shakefork Community Farm website

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:

zucca ripiena di fagiolina del Trasimeno e porri

or launch the zucca ripiena di fagiolina del Trasimeno e porri audio file [mp3].

[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]

This is my contribution to the current selection of our Cook the Books hosted by me, Simona of briciole. (You can find the guidelines for participating in the event on this page.)

The roundup of the event.

I contribute my dish also to My Legume Love Affair #122, the current edition of the popular, legume-centered event created by Susan, The Well-Seasoned Cook, now organized by Lisa of Lisa's Kitchen, and hosted this month by Renu of Cook with Renu.

The roundup of the event.

FTC disclosure: I have received the linen free of charge from the manufacturer (la FABBRICA del LINO). I have not and will not receive any monetary compensation for presenting the product on my blog. The experience shared and the opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own.

cowpea, fagiolina, leek, squash, Italian food

recipe: delicata squash stuffed with fagiolina del Trasimeno and leeks

November 26, 2018 | Simona

Delicata squash stuffed with fagiolina del Trasimeno and leeks

by Simona Carini

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: final dish 12-14 minutes (+ time for individual components: see recipe)

Keywords: boil bake entree gluten-free sugar-free vegetarian nut-free low-carb beans leek winter squash fall winter

Ingredients (Serves 4)

1/2 cup / 3.25 ounces / 92 g fagiolina del Trasimeno (either white or rainbow variety)
1 1/2 cups / 350 ml water
1/2 small onion, halved
1/2 garlic clove
A small bay leaf
A handful of parsley stems
A 1-inch / 2.5 cm piece of kombu (optional)
1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
8 ounces / 225 g leek, white and light green portion, clean weight (set aside the dark green portion to make broth or stock)
2 tablespoon / 30 ml extra-virgin olive oil
Leaves of a handful of fresh thyme sprigs
Fine sea salt, to taste
A pinch of freshly ground black pepper
2 medium delicata squash: I used the Candystick Dessert variety
2 ounces / 56 g fresh chèvre

Instructions

Note

There are four parts to the recipe. The first three can all be made ahead of time. The fagiolina and leek mix is enough to stuff 4 squash halves and serve 4 people.

Cook the fagiolina

Rinse the fagiolina. Add fagiolina and all the aromatics (ingredients #3 through 8) to the water. Stir, cover and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and let the fagiolina cook, covered, until it is tender. Let the fagiolina cool in the broth, then remove the aromatics and discard them.

Cook the leeks

Cut the leek(s) in half lengthwise and slice into 1/8 inch / 3 mm half-moons. Rinse well in a colander, then place in a bowl and fill it with cold water. With your hands, swirl the leeks to clean them well, then scoop them out of the water with a sieve or slotted spoon and drain them in a colander.

Add the fagiolina to the leeks and stir well. There should be 2 tablespoons / 30 ml of its cooking broth in it (drain the excess if needed). Cook for a couple of minutes, then take off the heat. Adjust the salt as needed.

Roast the squash

Preheat the oven to 375 F / 190 C. Cut a thin slice of squash to remove the stem, then cut the squash in half lengthwise. Remove seeds and strings (a grapefruit spoon is my favorite tool to do this).

Place the squash, cut side down, on a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat. Bake the squash 35-40 minutes, or until soft (easily pierced with a pointed blade).

Finish the dish

Preheat the oven to 375 F / 190 C. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat.

Crumble the cheese, divide it into 4 equal parts and distribute into the cavity of each squash half.

One of the nice characteristics of delicata squash is that, if not stored for long, the skin is edible. To eat the squash half, I slice it crosswise, then cut each slice in half.

Go to the full post on Delicata squash stuffed with fagiolina del Trasimeno and leeks

fagiolina del Lago Trasimeno ai porri / cowpea of Lake Trasimeno with leeks

April 29, 2015 | Simona

[versione in italiano]

fagiolina comes in two varieties: white and "rainbow"
(the beautiful bicolor linen tablecloth is from La FABBRICA del LINO)

When I visit Perugia, the city in central Italy where I was born and grew up, I always bring back some fagiolina del Lago Trasimeno a local variety of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata)¹. Besides being pretty, fagiolina is a pleasure to eat: tender, buttery and flavorful. Good things come in small packages.

I buy fagiolina at the Antica Spezieria e Drogheria Eredi Bavicchi² one of my favorite stores in the world. The owner is a supporter of local legume growers. I like the tall striped sacks that hold the legumes and the hand-written signs explaining the main characteristic of the product.

fagiolina del Lago Trasimeno / Lake Trasimeno cowpea /P1030521 (1)

"harvested and sorted by hand
purchased directly from trusted local growers
grown without using any chemicals"

The sign also mentions that fagiolina does not require soaking and cooks in 40 minutes.

fagiolina del Lago Trasimeno / Lake Trasimeno cowpea / P1030516 (1)

"colorata" (colored) the way it was originally, the sign says

In this dish, I chose leeks, one of my favorite vegetable, to go with fagiolina. I currently get some leeks as part of my spring share with Redwood Roots Farm and I buy some from Green Fire Farm at the Arcata farmers' market.

leeks from Green Fire Farm

We loved the result. The leeks cooked to tenderness go well with the tender fagiolina and their delicate flavor makes them perfect companions: simple, refined and quite special.

a simply special plate, with a side of mashed potatoes

Print-friendly version of briciole's recipe for Fagiolina of Lake Trasimeno with leeks

Ingredients:

1 cup / 6.5 ounces / 185 g fagiolina del Lago Trasimeno (either variety or a mix)
2.5 cups / 600 ml water
1 small onion, quartered
1 garlic clove, halved
A bay leaf
A handful of parsley stems
A 2-inch / 5 cm piece of kombu (optional)
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
6.5 ounces / 185 g leek, white and light green portion, clean weight (set aside the dark green portion to make broth or stock)
1 tablespoon / 15 ml extra-virgin olive oil
Leaves of a good handful of thyme sprigs (don't be shy)
Fine sea salt, to taste
A pinch of freshly ground black pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil

How to cook fagiolina
Rinse the fagiolina. Warm up the water in a saucepan. Add fagiolina and all the aromatics (ingredients #3 through 7) to the warm water. Stir, cover and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and let the fagiolina simmer, covered, until it is tender. After 30 minutes, add salt (ingredient #8) and stir. Taste fagiolina after 35 minutes and estimate how much longer it should cook.

Let the fagiolina cool in the broth, then remove the aromatics and discard them.

How to finish the dish
Cut the leek(s) in half lengthwise and slice into 1/8 inch / 3 mm half-moons. Rinse well in a colander.

Warm up the olive oil in a frying pan and add leeks. Stir to coat, then add thyme leaves and stir again. Cook on gentle heat for 10 minutes, stirring often. Cover and cook for 10 minutes, stirring a few times. Uncover and continue cooking for another 10 minutes, stirring often, until the leeks are quite tender. Make sure the pan is never dry. Sprinkle a pinch of salt and the black pepper and stir.

Drain the fagiolina, leaving it slightly moist and place in a serving bowl. Add the cooked leeks and stir well. Adjust salt. Serve warm or at room temperature. After plating, drizzle some extra-virgin olive oil on the fagiolina.

Serves 4.

¹ Cowpea on wikipedia
² Antica Spezieria e Drogheria Eredi Bavicchi

An earlier post I wrote on fagiolina

FTC disclosure: I have received the tablecloth free of charge from the manufacturer (la FABBRICA del LINO). I have not and will not receive any monetary compensation for presenting the product on my blog. The experience shared and the opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own.

I contribute my dish to My Legume Love Affair #82, the current edition of the popular, legume-centered event created by Susan, The Well-Seasoned Cook, now organized by Lisa of Lisa's Kitchen, and hosted this month by Simona of briciole (that is, yours truly).

The roundup of the event.

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:

fagiolina del Lago Trasimeno ai porri

or launch the fagiolina del Lago Trasimeno ai porri audio file [mp3].

[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]

cowpea, fagiolina, leek, Italian cuisine

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fagiolina del Lago Trasimeno ai porri

le due varietà di fagiolina
(la bella tovaglia di lino bicolore è de La FABBRICA del LINO)

Quando vado a Perugia, la mia città natale, compro sempre della fagiolina del Lago Trasimeno da riportare a casa (Vigna unguiculata). Oltre ad essere bella, la fagiolina è ottima: tenera e saporita.

Il mio fornitore di fagiolina è l'Antica Spezieria e Drogheria Eredi Bavicchi¹ in assoluto uno dei miei negozi preferiti. Il proprietario del negozio è un sostenitore dei produttori di legumi della regione. Mi piacciono molto i sacchi a righe che contengono i legumi e i cartelli scritti a mano che presentano le caratteristiche dei prodotti.

la produzione di fagiolina richiede paziente lavoro

La fagiolina si prepara senza precedente ammollo.

fagiolina colorata "come era in origine"

Nel piatto che presento qui di seguito alla fagiolina ho abbinato il porro, una delle mie verdure preferite.

porri da Green Fire Farm

I porri teneri e saporiti sono un partner perfetto per la fagiolina e il risultato è un piatto semplice e dal gusto raffinato.

un piatto semplice, ma speciale, servito con puré di patate

Ingredienti:

185 g fagiolina del Lago Trasimeno (una delle due varietà o un misto)
600 ml acqua calda
Una foglia d'alloro
Una cipolla piccola tagliata in quarti
Uno spicchio d'aglio tagliato a metà
Una manciata di steli di prezzemolo
Un pezzo da 5 cm di alga kombu (facoltativo)
1/4 cucchiaino sale fino
185 g porri (la parte bianca e verde chiara), peso pulito (utilizzare la parte verde scuro come ingrediente per brodo)
1 cucchiaio / 15 ml olio extra-vergine di oliva
Le foglie di una buona manciata di rametti di timo fresco
Sale fino, q.b.
Un pizzico di pepe nero macinato fresco
Olio extra-vergine di oliva

Cuocere la fagiolina
Sciacquare la fagiolina. Scaldare l'acqua in una pentola. Versare la fagiolina e tutti gli odori (ingredienti numero 3-7) nell'acqua calda. Mescolare, coprire la pentola e portare a bollore. Abbassare il calore e far cuocere la fagiolina, coperta, fino a quando sia tenera. Dopo 30 minuti, aggiungere il sale (ingrediente numero 8) e mescolare. Assaggiare la fagiolina dopo 35 minuti di cottura e valutare quanto tempo manca al termine della cottura.

Far freddare la fagiolina nel liquido di cottura, poi rimuovere gli odori e scartarli.

Completare la preparazione
Tagliare i porri a metà per lungo poi a fettine di 3 mm. Sciacquare con cura.

In una padella scaldare l'olio e aggiungere i porri. Mescolare poi aggiungere il timo e mescolare. Cuocere a fuoco dolce per 10 minuti, mescolando spesso. Coprire e cuocere per 10 minuti, mescolando di tanto in tanto. Scoprire e cuocere per altri 10 minuti, mescolando spesso, fino a quando i porri siano alquanto morbidi. Assicurarsi che non siano mai secchi. Salare leggermente e pepare e mescolare.

Scolare la fagiolina lasciandola umida e metterla in una ciotola da portata. Aggiungere i porri e mescolare bene. Servire la fagiolina calda o a temperatura ambiente. Dopo averla impiattata, condire ciascuna porzione con un filo d'olio a crudo.

Porzioni: 4.

¹ Antica Spezieria e Drogheria Eredi Bavicchi

FTC disclosure: Ho ricevuto la tovaglia gratuitamente dall'azienda produttrice (la FABBRICA del LINO). Non ho ricevuto e non riceverò alcun compenso per presentare il prodotto sul mio blog. Le opinioni espresse nel post sono interamente personali.

recipe: fagiolina del Lago Trasimeno (cowpea of Lake Trasimeno) with leeks

April 28, 2015 | Simona

Fagiolina del Lago Trasimeno (cowpea of Lake Trasimeno) with leeks

by Simona Carini

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes (fagiolina) and 30 minutes (leeks)

Keywords: boil entree gluten-free sugar-free vegetarian vegan low-carb cowpea leek Italian

Ingredients (Serves 4)

For cooking the fagiolina

1 cup / 6.5 ounces / 185 g fagiolina del Lago Trasimeno (either variety or a mix)
2.5 cups / 600 ml water
1 small onion, quartered
1 garlic clove, halved
A bay leaf
A handful of parsley stems
A 2-inch / 5 cm piece of kombu (optional)
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

For the dish

6.5 ounces / 185 g leek, white and light green portion, clean weight
1 tablespoon / 15 ml extra-virgin olive oil
Leaves of a good handful of thyme sprigs
Fine sea salt, to taste
A pinch of freshly ground black pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil

Instructions

How to cook fagiolina

Rinse the fagiolina. Warm up the water in a saucepan. Add fagiolina and all the aromatics (minus the salt) to the warm water. Stir, cover and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and let the fagiolina simmer, covered, until it is tender. After 30 minutes, add salt and stir. Taste fagiolina after 35 minutes and estimate how much longer it should cook.

Let the fagiolina cool in the broth, then remove the aromatics and discard them.

How to finish the dish

Cut the leek(s) in half lengthwise and slice into 1/8 inch / 3 mm half-moons. Rinse well in a colander.

Warm up the olive oil in a frying pan and add leeks. Stir to coat, then add thyme leaves and stir again. Cook on gentle heat for 10 minutes, stirring often. Cover and cook for 10 minutes, stirring a few times. Uncover and continue cooking for another 10 minutes until the leeks are quite tender. Make sure the pan is never dry. Sprinkle a pinch of salt and the black pepper and stir.

Go to the full post on fagiolina del Lago Trasimeno ai porri / cowpea of Lake Trasimeno with leeks

zuppa di fagiolina del Trasimeno / cowpea of Lake Trasimeno soup

January 21, 2011 | Simona

Fagiolina del Lago Trasimeno, or, commonly, fagiolina del Trasimeno, is one of the Slow Food presidia in Italy. I first talked about this special legume from Umbria, my home region, in this post. From the Slow Food page on fagiolina:

È un fagiolo con forma ovale e minuscola e può essere di vari colori: dal crema al nero passando per il salmone e per tutte le tonalità del marrone, anche screziato. In bocca è tenero, burroso e particolarmente saporito.

This tiny, oval bean,… exists in colors ranging from ivory white to salmon pink to brown to black. Soft, buttery and flavourful…

Growing fagiolina is a long, hard and all-manual process. Together with roveja, fagiolina del Trasimeno is a precious product from my home region that not long ago ran the risk of disappearing. Where roveja has a kind of simple, rustic beauty, fagiolina is rather dainty, with a smooth skin of pastel color (when not elegant black)¹. The two legumes remind me of the two main characters of The Aristocats (Gli aristogatti): roveja (on the left in the photo below) is Thomas O'Malley (Romeo, "er mejo der Colosseo," as he says in the Italian version of the movie, declaring in both words and accent that he is from Roma), and fagiolina (on the right) is Duchess (Duchessa).

Following the Italian tradition, I made lenticchie di Castelluccio for New Year's Day (for being such a small region, Umbria certainly produces some important legumi) and I thought about sharing that recipe, but then I got sidetracked by the idea of adapting the recipe for Vegetarian Cassoulet to use fagiolina. My enthusiasm for the latter recipe was described in a recent post, where I talked about the three renditions of it that I made.

The thought that the delicate flavor of fagiolina would go well with that of the vegetables and aromatics called for by the recipe set in motion the fourth realization. Fagiolina does not need to be soaked before being cooked, and I decided to cook it with the vegetables, so I increased the amount of liquid with the idea of turning the dish into a soup. To make all this clear, here is the list of ingredients I used:

one long leek (white and pale green parts only), corresponding to one and a half leeks of more normal length, cut in half lengthwise, washed well and sliced into 1/8" half moons
8 oz baby carrots, sliced no thicker than 1/4"
one and a half celery ribs, cut lengthwise into thirds and chopped rather finely [don't forget that fagiolina is a tiny legume]
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
olive oil
2 thyme sprigs
2 parsley sprigs
a small bay leaf
a scant 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup fagiolina del Trasimeno, rinsed
1 quart liquid: about 3.5 cups of homemade vegetable stock (recipe from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison, made with the addition of corn cobs: when I roast corn to make this soup, I set aside the cobs and add them to the pot when I made vegetable stock, as I learned from my friend Christine of Christine Cooks) and the rest water [Updated²]

I followed the instructions given in the original recipe, with these changes:

I cooked the vegetables 10 minutes before adding the fagiolina
I covered the pot
I cooked until the fagiolina was ready (which was more than the 30 minutes specified in the original recipe)
I did not mash the fagiolina
I omitted the garlic crumbs

I ate the soup as is, while my husband's portion included a serving of toasted and cooked hulless oats (in the photo, you can see the oats before being added to the soup). As usual with me, the soup was rather thick, a feature that can be adjusted by adding water to reach the desired density. I really liked the result: the vegetable medley complements well the flavor and texture of fagiolina, a legume that is indeed "tenero, burroso e particolarmente saporito" (soft, buttery and flavorful).

¹ The fagiolina I have used so far was ivory in color, but I have a package of fagiolina of varied colors that I will use in a future recipe. Update: in this post there are some images of fagiolina and another recipe for it.

²I had neglected to specify that the stock was diluted a bit, and added it after publishing the post: apologies to the early readers.

This is my submission for My Legume Love Affair 31, the current edition of the popular, legume-centered event created by Susan, The Well-Seasoned Cook, and hosted this month by Simona of briciole (that would be me). This post contains links to the two-part roundup of the event.

This is also my submission for Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays, a weekly event created by Deb of Kahakai Kitchen. This post contains the roundup of the event.

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:

zuppa di fagiolina del Trasimeno

or launch the zuppa di fagiolina del Trasimeno audio file [mp3].

[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]

roveja

December 26, 2010 | Simona

(Pisum arvense) — About a year and a half ago, I received an email from a reader asking me about roveglia. It's a bit embarrassing when I have to admit that I don't know an Italian food that is mentioned to me. It is even more embarrassing when, as in this case, a brief research online uncovers the fact that the product in question is typical of an area of my home region, Umbria, and of bordering Marche. My excuse is that my parents come from a different area (northern Lazio), that I never cooked when I was growing up, etc. Still, how come I have missed tasting this legume or seeing it in some store?

If you read this page on the Slow Food Ark of Taste site¹, you'll realize that it was actually not difficult to miss roveja when I was growing up:

Roveja is scythed by hand, bending down, which obviously takes a long time. This has discouraged the cultivation of roveja and other old lesser varieties of legumes to the point that this small but tasty pea… is relatively unknown today.

You'll notice that I have already used two names for this legume, roveglia and roveja. The Slow Food page says that roveja is also called roveglia, rubiglio, pisello dei campi (field pea), corbello. In dialect, the word roveglia is pronounced roveja, so "ja" indicates a sound very different from that in the English language (if you listen to the audio file this sentence will make sense).

When I visited Italy a few months after first learning about roveja, I had a clear mission: find some. My precious resource when it comes to legumes is the owner of a store I have mentioned in a previous post (Bavicchi). It is from him that I had learned about fagiolina del Trasimeno: now he was my resource for roveja. Except that he did not have any from the recent crop, so I had to wait until my following visit to Italy to finally take a close look at roveja and then taste it.

Traditionally roveja was also ground and the flour cooked to make a special kind of polenta (called farrecchiata). That's a project for the future. Here I will share my experience cooking roveja according to the recipe given to me where I bought it. (This is another nice feature of the store: when you buy certain legumes, you get a recipe to get you started preparing them.) The first time I prepared roveja, I liked it, but I wasn't extatic, so I put off eating what was left over for a few days. When we ate it the second time, it was much better, it was actually excellent, which made me realize this was a classic case of "it tastes even better the day after" so the following instruction is part of the recipe: should be prepared the day before it is eaten.

Although I was tempted to make a soup with roveja, I opted to tweak and enrich the recipe received and prepared something that can be eaten as is, or spread over toasted slices of bread (a rustic kind, like the 100% whole-grain bread I prepared recently during the weekend di pane), or to dress pasta (as you shall see before this post is over).

Print-friendly version of briciole's recipe for roveja

Ingredients:

a cup of roveja (200 g)
4 cups of water (about 1 l)
1/2 teaspoon of coarse sea salt
olive oil
1/2 onion, finely diced
1/2 rib of celery, finely diced
1 carrot (if big, use half), coarsely shredded
a tiny dried hot chili pepper (peperoncino rosso) left whole
1 teaspoon ground cumin (possibly prepared freshly by toasting cumin seeds in a dry skilled and then grinding them)
4 oz organic tomato sauce
1 tablespoon tomato paste (concentrato di pomodoro)
fine sea salt, to taste

Soak the roveja in the water, add the coarse salt, stir and let sit for 12 hours, then drain. Cook the roveja in two cups of water, until fairly soft, but not totally cooked (for me that meant 75 minutes). Set aside. In another saucepan, warm up a bit of olive oil, then add the onion. Cook for two minutes, then add the celery. Cook for two minutes, then add the carrot and chili pepper. Cover and cook for 8-10 minutes until soft. If the vegetables become dry, I add some of the cooking liquid from the roveja.

Sprinkle the cumin and stir. Add the tomato sauce and tomato paste and, after a couple of minutes, the roveja. Cook over low heat, covered, until nice and soft, about 15 minutes. Add salt to taste. Turn off the heat and let the roveja cool, then put in the fridge until the day after. Warm up, adding some water if too dry, and serve.

I like eating the roveja like this, with a side dish and some homemade bread. However, the last time I made pasta all'uovo for my husband, I decided to use roveja to dress it. The photo shows the bowl before I sprinkled freshly grated parmigiano reggiano on top. My tagliatelle are not yet worth writing about, but I think they fare fairly well in this photo.

Roveja's rough beauty is quite appealing. Its flavor is intense and not pea-like, more like fava beans (fave). I am thankful for the efforts made to prevent the disappearance of this ancient legume from our table. When a food and the traditions attached to it are saved, we become richer.

¹ The page unfortunately no longer exists.

This is my submission for My Legume Love Affair 30, the current edition of the popular, legume-centered event created by Susan, The Well-Seasoned Cook, and hosted this month by Priya of Mharo Rajasthan's Recipes.

This post contains the roundup of the event.

Preview: I will be hosting the January 2011 edition of the event.

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:

roveja

or launch the roveja audio file [mp3].

[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]

cartolina da Perugia / postcard from Perugia

November 22, 2009 | Simona

I have some more photos from my recent trip to Italy to share on this venue. We spent six days in my home town, Perugia, which is located in Umbria, the region sometimes referred to as “the green heart of Italy.” Perugia is an incredibly beautiful city, and has a lot to offer to visitors. Even though I have walked around the downtown area ever since I could walk, I am not yet tired of doing so and of admiring the streets, the buildings, the works of art.

Perugia’s main square is called Piazza IV Novembre. At its center there is the Fontana Maggiore (XIII century, photo under the title), the most beautiful medieval fountain there is — a very personal opinion and you can quote me on this.

The fountain has three basins and is decorated with beautiful sculptures and reliefs. The latter decorate the lower basin and come in pairs. Above you can see two of them. The top one shows the lion and the griffin (leone e grifone), the symbols of the city, which are echoed, so to speak, over the Gothic portal that provides access to the Sala dei Notari in the Palazzo dei Priori across from the fountain (photo below — this portion of the building dates back to the end of the XIII century).

The other pair shows Romulus and Remus (Romolo e Remo), the brothers protagonists of Rome’s foundation myth.

In the III century BC, the Etruscans built a boundary wall (le mura) all around the city: “three kilometers of travertine winding up and down across the steep sides of the hill. Rows of rectangular rough stone blocks laid without mortar form its characteristic structure, and long stretches are still visible.” One of the gates is the Etruscan Arch (arco etrusco, photo above).

In the photo above, I am showing an example of a narrow and steep street in the downtown area.

From Piazza IV Novembre you can walk along Corso Vannucci, the city’s main thoroughfare (pedestrian-only). When you reach the other end, Piazza Italia, you turn around and retrace your steps, all the time enjoying the people, the buildings, the shops, the atmosphere.

One of the people on Corso Vannucci was a figure typical of this time of the year, il caldarrostaio, i.e., the seller of roasted chestnuts (caldarroste). The temperature having dropped suddenly and substantially (we went from summer to winter in a mere couple of days), he was doing well in terms of business. Roasted chestnuts warm not only your body but also your hands.

On the street parallel to Corso Vannucci, called Via Baglioni, there is a store I loved as a child and teenager, the latteria, where I used to buy fresh whipped cream to top pesche sciroppate (peaches in syrup, made by mother) or, when in season, fragole (strawberries) for our Sunday lunch dessert, and maritozzo con la panna for a sumptuous snack.

If you are interested in learning more about Perugia, on this page of the city’s web site you will find a downloadable guidebook in several languages. Look also at the list of links on the left panel. Though the titles are only in Italian, on some of the relevant pages, you can find information in English as well. For example, the link Perugia nascosta (hidden Perugia) contains proposals for themed walks around the city.

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:

cartolina da Perugia

or launch the cartolina da Perugia audio file [mp3].

torciglione

January 22, 2009 | Simona

As I mentioned in my recent post on dolci delle feste, every region of Italy has specific traditions: torciglione is a tradition of my region, Umbria. As a child, I ate occasionally the one made by a family friend.

When Jeremy of DoBianchi wrote a comment on fagiolina del Trasimeno mentioning the anguilla (eel) traditionally fished in the lake, I was reminded of torciglione. I knew that its shape is supposed to represent the snakelike fish. I was also reminded of the fact that, unlike eel, I liked torciglione a lot, so I decided to try to make it for the upcoming holiday season. (As an aside, it is actually possible to buy torciglione during the year.)

The main ingredients of torciglione are almonds (mandorle), sugar (zucchero) and egg whites (albumi). I looked for some recipes, then made up my first version using 300 g of almonds and 200 g of sugar (in the recipes I read, the quantity of sugar was higher). I then made a second version with even less sugar, 170 g. I liked that better than its predecessor. At this point, I read a post on torciglione by Salsadisapa of qualcosa di rosso: her recipe had even less sugar, so I felt justified in further reducing the amount I would use for my third version. Another important characteristic of her recipe was the lack of flour, an ingredient that I had also reduced to a couple of tablespoonfuls. I am very thankful to Salsadisapa for this detail and for the exchange we had on the topic.

A handful of bitter almonds is added to the sweet ones, but I cannot find bitter almonds, so I skip that ingredient. I like to use vanilla sugar (i.e., sugar that is stored in a jar with vanilla beans) and just a hint of grated lemon zest to add nuanced flavor.

Ingredients:

300 g (10.5 oz.) almonds, blanched, peeled, dried in the oven at 300 F and cooled
125 g (1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons) [vanilla] sugar
a bit of grated lemon zest
2 large egg whites
pine nuts (pinoli), two coffee beans (chicchi di caffè) and an almond slice for the decoration

Preheat the oven to 350 F and line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Chop the almonds in the food processor, together with a couple of tablespoons of sugar and the lemon zest. Do not pulverize the almonds: the granules give a nice varied texture to the final product. (I hope that the close-up gives a sense of what I mean here.) Place almonds in a bowl, add the remaining sugar and mix. Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form and gently fold them in the almond mix (the latter will become wet and sticky). Pour on the baking sheet and shape into a snake. Decorate as you like. This is the fun part. In my version, coffee beans become the snake’s eyes and an almond slice its tongue, rigorously, and impertinently sticking out of its mouth. I use a spatula to make short slits on both sides and finally align pine nuts on the back of my torciglione. I guess that makes it vaguely reminiscent of an iguana.

Bake until golden. Check after 30 minutes and gauge the remaining baking time. I usually need about 35 minutes. Let the torciglione cool thoroughly before slicing it. The outer layer is crisp, the inner core softer, with texture provided by the crunchy almonds: each morsel is a delight.

I would like to thank Jeremy of DoBianchi for inspiring me to replicate this small piece of my childhood. As I was finishing the writing of this post, I received news regarding Jeremy and his group’s (Nous Non Plus) new record Ménagerie: congratulations!

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:

torciglione

or launch the torciglione audio file [mp3].

rocciata

November 14, 2008 | Simona

A thin layer of dough envelopes pieces of apple (mela), nuts and raisins. It looks like a strudel, but it isn't: It's my rendition of rocciata, a dessert that I used to eat at the house of family friends in Foligno (Umbria).

To create my own version of rocciata, I started with the recipe on the Accademia Italiana della Cucina site, then did some experiments, based on my personal taste. I had my mother confirm with our friend that she uses an egg in the dough. She also adds to it some mistrà, an anise-flavored liqueur. I sprinkle semi di anice (anise seeds) on the apples instead. There are many variations on the basic theme of this traditional dish. Some of them include a rich filling: I prefer a simpler ensemble that lets each ingredient shine.

The dough for rocciata needs to be rolled really thin. I am sure that if I saw an expert making it, I would then make a better rocciata, but I am happy with the way it is — even though it is not as faithful to the tradition as it could be — because it allows me to bring to life a delicious memory.

Ingredients for the dough:

1 and 1/2 cups unbleached white flour
1/3 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
1 extra-large egg
a pinch of salt
2 tablespoons granulated sugar (or more, to taste)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup lukewarm water

Ingredients for the filling:

1 lb and 3-4 oz peeled apples, cut into eights and then into 1/8-1/4"-thick slices
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (cannella)
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon anise seeds (a small quantity goes a long way in providing flavor)
3/4 cup raisins (uvetta)
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts* (noci)
2 tablespoons pine nuts (pinoli)

* To prepare the walnuts, I bring a pan of water to the boil, add the walnuts and let them stand for one minute, then drain them and absorb the excess moisture with a towel. I spread the walnuts on a baking sheet and place them in the oven at 300 F until they have dried out, 15 minutes or so (instructions from "Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone" by Deborah Madison). I use a knife to chop them.

On a kneading board, combine flours and make a well in the center. Push aside a tablespoon of flour for later. Break the egg in the well and, with a fork, mix it with the surrounding flour. Add salt and sugar, then 4 tablespoons of the water and the olive oil. Mix with the flour to form a dough. Add more water (1-2 tablespoons) as you knead to make a soft dough. Use the flour set aside at the beginning to keep the surface non-stick. Shape the dough into a ball, cover it with a cloth and let it rest in a cool, dry place for 1/2 hour.

To prepare the filling, cover the raisins with lukewarm water. Put the apple slices in a mixing bowl and sprinkle them with cinnamon and lemon zest, then stir. Mix pine nuts and walnuts in a small bowl. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Drain the raisins. Roll the dough into a rectangle (or an approximation of it). I do this on a well-floured, creaseless patterned piece of cloth. If you skip the well-floured step, you'll regret it. Being able to see the pattern on the cloth gives me a measure of the thinness of the dough. Distribute the apple slices evenly over the dough, making a single layer and leaving a bit of space between each piece and its neighbors. Leave a 3/4" clear border around the perimeter. Sprinkle the anise seeds over the apple pieces, then scatter the nuts evenly, and finally the raisins.

Roll up the dough, starting from one of the long sides, tightly but without tearing it. Press the flap gently and roll the two ends to seal. The cloth may be helpful for the transfer on the baking sheet. I shape my rocciata, which my husband calls "the sea cucumber" (cetriolo di mare), into a sort of horseshoe. It may be bent further, very gently, into a spiral. Bake for 40 or so minutes until golden. Let cool, slice and enjoy the way the concentric layers of ingredients play in your mouth.

This is my contribution to Think Spice… , a monthly event founded by Sunita of Sunita’s World. The November edition is titled …Think Anise and is hosted by historical recipe discoverer extraordinaire Manuela of Baking History.

This page contains the roundup of the event.

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:

rocciata

or launch the rocciata audio file [mp3].

farrecchiata (polenta di roveja)

fagiolina del Lago Trasimeno ai porri