Fagioli con le cotiche

Ingredients

Beans

• 400 gdried borlotti or cannellini beans
• water, for soaking
• 1bay leaf
• 1garlic clove

Pork rind

• 500 gpork rind, cotiche
• water, for blanching
• 1 tablespoonvinegar

Soffritto

• 1onion, chopped
• 2carrots, chopped
• 2celery sticks, chopped
• 4garlic cloves, crushed
• 5 tablespoonsolive oil
• 100 gpancetta, diced, optional

To cook

• 400 gtinned tomatoes
• 2 tablespoonstomato paste
• 2 sprigsrosemary
• 1dried chilli
• 1 litrewater or stock
• salt and black pepper

To serve

• crusty bread
• grated pecorino
• olive oil, to finish

Directions

1. Remove as much soft fat as you can. Too much fat makes a greasy stew. Check the outer side for any bristles. Singe them off over a flame if you find any. Put the rind in a pot of cold water. Add a splash of vinegar to it. Bring it to a boil and let it boil hard. Give it about ten full minutes.
2. Drain it and rinse it thoroughly. Discard that first water entirely. Cutting it takes a sharp knife. Let the blanched rind cool a little. Cut it into strips or squares. Aim for pieces about two centimetres.
3. Rinse the beans and pick out any stones. Cover them with plenty of cold water. Leave them overnight or for eight hours. Drain them and rinse them before cooking. Boil them hard for ten minutes regardless. Put the drained beans in a pot. Cover them with fresh cold water.
4. Add the bay leaf and the garlic clove. Bring it to a full rolling boil. Let it boil hard for ten full minutes. Let them cook for about an hour. They should be very nearly tender. Keep all of the cooking liquid. Heat the olive oil in a large heavy pot. Add the diced pancetta if using it. Let it render for five minutes. Add the onion, carrot and celery.
5. Cook them slowly for a good fifteen minutes. They should soften completely. Add the crushed garlic and cook one minute. Stir the tomato paste in as well. Fry it for a good two minutes. Add the tinned tomatoes to it.
6. Cook them down for about eight minutes. Add the rosemary and the dried chilli. Add the cut pork rind to the pot. Stir it through the tomato base. Pour in the water or the stock. Bring it up to a gentle simmer.
7. Cover it and lower the heat down. Let it cook for about ninety minutes. Stir it well every twenty minutes. Judging the rind takes a test. Add the nearly cooked beans to the pot. Add some of their cooking liquid. Let it all simmer together for thirty minutes. The beans finish and take up the flavour.
8. Mash a few beans against the pan. Season it well with salt and black pepper. It should be thick rather than soupy. Add hot water if it is too thick. Cook it uncovered if it is loose. Let it sit off the heat for twenty minutes. Serving it is done hot in deep bowls.
9. Ladle it out while it is steaming. Thread a little olive oil over each bowl. Grate pecorino over it if you like. Serve crusty bread alongside it. It keeps four days refrigerated.

Technique

• Cotiche is pork rind, almost entirely collagen, which converts to gelatine over two hours of gentle simmering and is what thickens the whole stew.
• The dish is poverty cooking that used the cheapest and least wanted part of the winter pig alongside beans for protein and bulk.
• A short cook leaves rubbery inedible rind, and there is no middle ground: either it is properly done or it is not.

Substitutions

• Any dried white or borlotti bean works, and tinned beans shorten the cooking considerably.
• Pancetta can be left out for a leaner stew.

Variations

• Some cooks add a pig’s trotter for extra gelatine.
• A version without tomato is made in some households.
• Similar bean and pork rind stews are cooked across central Italy.

History

Beans stewed with pork rind, a winter dish of Romagna and San Marino that made use of the cheapest part of the pig.

Frequently asked questions

What is Fagioli con le cotiche?

Fagioli con le cotiche is a soup & stew from San Marino: bean and pork-rind soup, Christmas tradition. Beans stewed with pork rind, a winter dish of Romagna and San Marino that made use of the cheapest part of the pig.

How long does Fagioli con le cotiche take to make?

Fagioli con le cotiche takes 30 minutes plus soaking of preparation and 2 hours 30 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Fagioli con le cotiche?

Yes, within limits. Any dried white or borlotti bean works, and tinned beans shorten the cooking considerably. Pancetta can be left out for a leaner stew.

What is the most important thing to get right in Fagioli con le cotiche?

Mash a few beans against the pan. Season it well with salt and black pepper. It should be thick rather than soupy. Add hot water if it is too thick. Cook it uncovered if it is loose. Let it sit off the heat for twenty minutes. Serving it is done hot in deep bowls.