Beans all'uccelletto, here is the step by step recipe to prepare the famous Tuscan dish.
Beans all'uccelletto, here is the step by step recipe to prepare the famous Tuscan dish.
A dish of ancient origins based on cannellini beans, tomatoes and sage, it is considered a side dish (and often combined with meat dishes such as sausages and stews), but it can also be safely consumed as a single dish, perhaps accompanied by croutons. or other cereal. This recipe of the poor tradition was born, in fact, despite the name, as entirely vegetable and only later, especially in some areas of the region, was it enriched with cured meats, such as rigatino.
The origin of the name is still uncertain, even if the most accredited version attributes it to the way of cooking the "birds" during the hunting season, very similar both in the ingredients, starting from the sage, and in the long cooking methods. .
La recipe for beans all'uccelletto it has been handed down in Tuscan families from generation to generation, even if, currently, the rhythms of daily life do not marry with the preparation of this dish for which calm becomes the main ingredient. The slow and sweet cooking of the beans, in fact, is the secret of this soup: the legumes should not boil and move inside the earthenware pot, but remain almost motionless and cook for about four hours.
Once upon a time the farmers put dried cannellini beans in a pot full of water covered with a lid and closed in the unlit oven while still hot, the slow drying of the oven was in fact enough to cook them.
To halve the cooking times of the beans it is still possible to soak them for twelve hours in a bowl full of water, it is important, however, not to add bicarbonate and not to use the pressure cooker for cooking.
Index
Ingredients
- 600 gr of dried cannellini beans
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 2 sprigs of sage
- 600 grams of peeled tomatoes
- 1 glass of extra virgin olive oil
- water to taste
- Preparation Time:
240 minutes - Cooking time:
20 minutes - Rest time:
- - Dose:
4 people to - difficulty:
low
How to prepare the beans all'uccelletto: procedure
- Rinse the beans under running water and put them in a pot full of water, if they have been soaked, the amount of water must be double that of the beans otherwise it must be four times higher,
- add two clean cloves of garlic and a few washed sage leaves, cover with a lid and at very low heat cook them preferably in an earthenware pot or alternatively in a thick-bottomed pot for about two hours in case of soaking or four hours in case of soaking. otherwise.
- Cooking when finished, remove the garlic and sage, then drain the beans and let them cool down a bit,
- meantime peel the garlic and wash the sage, chop them finely with a knife and put them in a pan with the oil, and if you like, mash the peeled tomatoes with a fork,
- brown now the sage and garlic, add the beans and when the oil starts to sizzle again add the tomatoes,
- regular salt and cook for about twenty minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally,
- cooking when finished it is possible to serve the beans hot or even slightly lukewarm.
How to preserve the beans all'uccelletto:
Beans all'uccelletto can be stored in the refrigerator in special airtight containers for a couple of days.
You may also be interested in the recipe for spelled and bean soup or the recipes for pasta and beans
Ilaria Zizza
