Francesco’s Pasta e Fagioli

Francesco Vincenzi has always had an eye for good quality ingredients, it’s one of his most distinctive traits as a chef – first at Osteria Francescana where he trained and later at Franceschetta58, where he is currently chef. By being respectful of the ingredients and their history, Vins (as most people know him) has been able to recreate a traditional dish, enhancing its original flavour and taste while celebrating why cooking Pasta e Fagioli (Pasta with Beans) is an act of love.

Pasta e Fagioli is usually served in a clay bowl with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of Parmesan Cheese. Due to its high nutritional value, it used to be eaten as a family meal after a long day spent working in the fields. It was a poor dish, prepared with simple ingredients – often neglected – but that was able to provide the right nutrient supply to those who had limited access to food. 

The type of pasta chosen for this version of Pasta e Fagioli contributes to enhancing the value of poor ingredients – such as the beans. Prepared with Le Curve di Pasta Mancini, this recipe aims to raise awareness on sustainable consumption and the respect of natural resources, both essential steps towards a more equitable and sustainable food system. 

Born out of a collaboration between Food for Soul and Pastificio Agricolo Mancini, Le Curve di Pasta Lunga are, at the same time, an example of circular economy and a call to act for a more conscious consumption. The curve is obtained from the part of the pasta that rests on the rack during the drying process and that is usually discarded in the making of long pasta shapes, allowing for the unnecessary waste of ingredients and resources which has a significant social and environmental impact. 

Every single element of this dish is conceived to shine light on the potential of its ingredients.

Pasta e Fagioli tastes like home, like people gathered around the same table: it warms the body as well as the soul. It’s a symbol of the Italian gastronomic tradition, and like with most Italian recipes, there are several different versions of the same dish. Every family has its own secret recipe, which is passed down from generation to generation.

The recipe below is from our own family – shared by Francesco in the hope that you will help us turn awareness into action by trying it at home and creating your own version! 

Pasta e fagioli

INGREDIENTS FOR 5 PEOPLE

• 400 gr Le Curve di Pasta Lunga Mancini

Cannellini Cream sauce

• 500 gr white cannellini beans
• 2 carrots
• 1 onion
• 1 stalk of celery
• 4 pieces of rind of Parmesan cheese
• 1 sprig of rosemary 
• 50 gr fresh sage
• 4 cloves of garlic
  200 gr olive oil 

BEANS

• 100 gr Trasimeno beans
• 100 gr Zolfino beans
• 100 gr red beans 

PARSLEY POWDER

• 1 bunch of parsley

To prepare the beans

The day before, soak the three different types of beans separately (water three times their weight). Drain the beans and, keeping them separate, boil them in water. 

To prepare the cream sauce

Soak white cannellini beans in water (about three times their weight) for a night. Wash the Parmesan rind pieces and cook them in a pot with boiling water for about one hour. Once cooked, remove them and let them cool to room temperature – cut them into cubes of around 1 cm and set aside. Save the cooking water. Drain the beans. Julienne the onion and brown in a pan with a little oil. Add the cannellini beans to the onion and stir for a few minutes, then cover the ingredients with the saved cooking water and continue cooking at low heat for about 2 and a half hours. While the cannellini beans cook, add 200 gr of olive oil in a small pot and bring to 68 degrees. Once the temperature has been reached, add 3 cloves of garlic, 50 gr of sage, a sprig of rosemary and leave in infusion for 15 minutes. Filter the liquid with a fine mesh strainer and keep it aside. Once cooked, blend the cannellini beans in a thermo-mix with the flavoured oil for about 5 minutes at medium speed, sift the cream. Once cooked, drain the beans that had been soaked and boiled the night before and add them to the white cannellini cream sauce. 

For the parsley powder

Wash, peel and cut the celery and carrots into small pieces; then brown them in a pan with a little oil and set aside. Wash the parsley and remove the leaves. Chop the leaves into small strips and set aside. Dry the parsley stems for a night at 45° in the oven. Once dried, blend in a bowl the stems to obtain the powder. 

How to serve

Cook Le Curve di Pasta Lunga Mancini, and strain. Whisk the pasta over a low heat with the cannellini cream. Then add the celery and the diced onion, the Parmesan cubes and the parsley leaves previously set aside. Plate the pasta and complete the dish topping it with parsley powder.