The soup with Tondino del Tavo bean is a traditional simple dish, a recipe like many others, rustic, genuine, and full of flavor. What makes this bean soup special is the Tondino del Tavo, a gastronomic excellence from Abruzzo, a Slow Food presidium, a unique legume with ancient origins, disappeared from the scene for a long time and then returned to the tables thanks to meticulous recovery work. And here it is on my table to reach yours thanks to the “Tasty Abruzzo” section conceived by my colleagues Mary from “Un’americana tra gli orsi“, Francesca from “Polvere di spezie” and Niva from “Nevole e Nuvole”. A section that aims to introduce the excellences of our wonderful land, Abruzzo. Would you like to know more? In the meantime, let’s prepare the soup with Tondino del Tavo bean and then I’ll tell you more.
Not to be missed
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Rest time: 8 Hours
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 2 people
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Regional Italian
- Region: Abruzzo
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter
Ingredients
- 7.8 oz Tondino del Tavo beans (cooked)
- 3 potatoes (about 14 oz)
- 5.3 oz mixed soffritto (celery, carrot, onion)
- 1 sprig rosemary
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- to taste salt
- 1 tsp homemade vegetable broth cube
Tools
- 1 High-sided saucepan Staub 24 centimeters
Steps
For the soup, I used Tondino beans that I had already cooked. If you have beans to cook: soak them in cold water for eight/twelve hours (do this operation the night before and you will find them ready in the morning). Ideally, change the water a couple of times. The times are indicative: the best thing is to follow the producer’s instructions which are usually on the package. After the necessary time, drain them well, rinse them well, transfer them to a saucepan, cover them with fresh water, and cook them over low heat for 45 minutes/1 hour from boiling.
Prepare the soffritto by finely chopping celery, carrot, and onion. Peel the potatoes and cut them into small cubes. In the saucepan, heat the extra virgin olive oil and let the soffritto vegetables brown gently with the rosemary sprig. Remove the rosemary sprig and add the diced potatoes, let them flavor for a couple of minutes, add the teaspoon of homemade vegetable broth, then cook them by gradually adding hot water: it will take about twenty-five minutes.
When both the beans and potatoes are cooked, transfer the beans to the saucepan with the potatoes and let them cook together for another five minutes. For a creamy soup, you can, as I did, blend some of the beans and potatoes with an immersion blender. Adjust the salt, but better to taste first if you have used the broth or homemade vegetable broth.
You can serve the soup simply like this with croutons or add some soup pasta.
Curiosity
The small, round Tondino del Tavo bean resembles peas more than beans, so much so that it is called “fasciule a buscielle” or pea bean. Its pearl white color, ranging from milky white to ivory, and particularly thin skin make the Tondino del Tavo quick to cook and easy to digest. This late bean is sown from mid-June and harvested in October/November. The pod is elongated and contains up to eight seeds. The production area is the Tavo River valley, from Farindola to Cappelle sul Tavo, through Collecorvino, Loreto Aprutino, Moscufo, and Penne, the right habitat with sandy and stony soils for this particular bean. It has a delicate taste and is excellent boiled and simply seasoned with extra virgin olive oil but is perfect for soups, broths, and salads.
It is said that, in reality, the Tondino del Tavo bean never completely disappeared but that some families cultivated plants in their gardens. Thanks to research and recovery work, about 65 quintals are produced today, a small quantity for a great excellence of Abruzzo.
Notes
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