Pancotto with Beans

Name: Pancotto with Beans
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 120 min
Total time: 140 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: Stale bread (type loaf) 9.9 oz; Precooked Borlotti beans 1 ¼ cup; Carrots 1; Celery 1 rib; Onions ½; Garlic 1 clove; Fresh chili pepper ½; Rosemary 1 sprig; Extra virgin olive oil to taste; Water to taste; Fine salt to taste; Black pepper to taste

Lactose Free
Vegetarian

Difficulty: Easy
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 2 h
Serving: 4 persone
Cost: Very low
Note + the soaking time for dried borlotti beans (8-10 hours)

PRESENTATION

Pancotto with beans is a hearty dish of peasant origins, a creamy and substantial soup made with stale bread and borlotti beans. A comfort food first course that is very easy to prepare, a recycling recipe for leftover bread to make a rich and flavorful soup. This dish belongs to the southern tradition, but pancotto (known by different names) is made all over Italy: for example, in Tuscany, there is panzanella or pappa al pomodoro, usually enjoyed cold or at room temperature, while in other regions pancotto can be prepared with the addition of fish, such as pancotto with mussels, local cheeses, or vegetables, such as Gargano's pancotto. Pancotto with beans is delicious both hot and at room temperature, a vegetarian and tasty recipe to warm belly and heart on the coldest days of the year!

INGREDIENTS: Stale bread 9.9 oz (280 g) - (type loaf); Precooked Borlotti beans 1 ¼ cup (250 g); Carrots 1; Celery 1 rib; Onions ½; Garlic 1 clove; Fresh chili pepper ½; Rosemary 1 sprig; Extra virgin olive oil to taste; Water to taste; Fine salt to taste; Black pepper to taste

Preparation

How to prepare Pancotto with Beans

To prepare pancotto with beans, soak the beans as directed on the package, usually 8-10 hours in cold water, with a final rinse. For the sauté, thinly slice the garlic, remove the seeds from the chili pepper and cut it into thin rings. Clean and dice the carrot 1 and celery 2 into 1/8-inch pieces, peel and finely chop the onion 3.

In a tall pot, pour a generous amount of oil, add garlic and chili pepper to sauté over moderate heat. Then add celery, carrot 4 and onion and mix. Let it cook for about 10 minutes, stirring often. Also, add the rosemary 5 and then pour in the beans 6.

Cover with water (about 6 cups) 7 8, adding more as needed. Wait for the first boil, then cook for about 1 hour and 30 minutes with the lid on: it will also depend on the type of beans used, they should be tender but firm at the end. You can then remove the rosemary 9.

Season with a good pinch of salt, stir, and set aside, keeping it warm 10. Then take the bread and cut it into cubes about 1 inch 11 and place it in a wider and shallower pot 12.

Add the bean "soup" until it covers the bread 13 14, if needed add more water. Cook for another 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, to break up and soften the bread well 15.

Leave the bean pancotto slightly brothy because it will tend to thicken quickly. Plate it up 16 adding a drizzle of raw oil, pepper 17 and aromatic herbs to taste 18!

Storage

You can store pancotto with beans for 1 day in an airtight container.

You can store the beans, without bread, for 1-2 days in an airtight container.

Freezing is not recommended.

Advice

Instead of 8.8 oz of dried borlotti beans, you can use 10.5-12.3 oz of precooked beans.

You can leave the garlic whole and then remove it, same with the chili pepper (you can remove the seeds for a less spicy version).

It is recommended to use two pots as indicated, as it will be easier to adjust the amount of the bean mixture, with the addition of water necessary to achieve the right consistency.

As with any peasant dish, it is common to make it in very large quantities, and then "finalize" it with the bread in smaller portions for the day's family consumption: this way, it is much easier to adjust!

When cooking legumes, salt should always be added at the end, to prevent them from hardening.

For the translation of some texts, artificial intelligence tools may have been used.