Tuscan Comfort Food

Fagioli all'uccelletto

November/December is the rainy season in Tuscany (and in London), and calls for some proper Tuscan comfort food: Salsiccia e fagioli all’uccelletto - sausages and cannellini beans.  I’d always thought that the name referred to the Tuscan natural park in the Maremma.  In fact the park is called the Parco all’Uccellino - not Ucelletto – but an easy mistake to make as they both mean “little bird”.   The dish’s name comes from the seasoning, garlic and sage, which are typically used to flavour poultry dishes.  In this one there is no poultry, but it’s made in a “birdy” (uccelletto) style!  Faux-birdy, if you will.

I soaked my fagioli, which I bought dry.   Cannellini’s are clearly the most authentic, but you can also use other white beans.   I boiled these with a little smoked ham for 45 minutes or so.  (Never add salt to beans while cooking or they will stay hard!)

Then, in some oil, I started cooking some  garlic with sage.   I used about 3 big cloves of garlic and 10 sage leaves.  Take out the garlic when it starts to brown, as it becomes bitter. Add tomatoes, salt and pepper.  As I’m in UK, my tomatoes came from a tin (or two in this case).  Prick the skins and add the sausages. Let those cook a bit and have their fats season the sauce.  Add the beans and cook for another half an hour or so.  Serve with a few drops of olive oil – preferably Olio Nuovo if you have some, as it is the season!  I served it here with a rocket salad with a little lemon and oil – even the kids loved it!

Buon appetito!!

Tagged as: comfort food, fagioli