Difficulty: easy
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Ingredients ( for four people ):
300 g of Masseria Terra&Grano tubes
200 g of dried borlotti beans
1 carrot
1 onion
1 celery
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
extra virgin olive oil to taste
100 g of Grana Padano Dop (also use the rinds if you have them)
salt and pepper to taste
Method
Investigating the specific origins of this pasta is a very difficult, if not impossible, task. Yes it is a classic dish of the Italian tradition and there is no single region of origin. The it is prepared in Tuscany, Lazio, Piedmont, Lombardy and Campania in different variations: there are those add bits of bacon, some use chickpeas and some borlotti beans, tomato or pork rind. Not there is only one right version, in short. What we offer you today takes inspiration from Neapolitan cuisine , in which the pasta cooks directly in the beans (borlotti beans in this case), thus reaching an “apt” consistency , to put it precisely in Neapolitan, that is dense and creamy. The trick of this cooking technique, in fact, is to trap the starch of the pasta in the sauce without letting it disperse in the cooking water which usually does not come afterwards used. This recipe cannot miss the right amount of cheese and what we recommend and Grana Padano: use not only the pulp but also the rind which, cooking with the beans for a long time, releases even more flavor as it melts.
- Cook the beans in abundant water to boil them. Chop onion, carrot and celery for the sauté, then throw the vegetables in a pot with extra virgin olive oil. When will they be brown, pour the beans and cook for a few minutes, mixing carefully with a wooden spoon to prevent them from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
- At this point pour some water and add the tomato paste. To flavor it even more , the suggestion is to also use the crusts of Grana Padano: clean them well rub them, cut them into small pieces and add them to the pot. Salt and pepper to taste e close with the lid. Cook for about twenty to thirty minutes or until it starts to form a little cream. However, if the soup is too dry, add a little hot water, as much as needed to be able to cook the pasta.
- When the soup boils, throw in the pasta and cook it al dente. When finished cooking, serve hot soup with a drizzle of raw extra virgin olive oil, Grana Padano and, if you like, another grating of fresh pepper.
