Anna and the pisarei”
Anna hurry! We have to go to the field. Mom is waiting for us.” My sister Maria’s voice still resonates today, clear, over the noise of the years. Every summer it was the same story: Me, her, and mom.
We loaded our gestures onto the bicycles and set off with the wheels creaking on the scorched earth. As we pedaled, my gaze always wandered to the side.
I looked enviously at the other girls: they walked arm in arm in their fashionable dresses, light as clouds, while we had heavy clogs and long skirts, and our hair tightly pulled back.
“Loose hair leads to misunderstandings,” mom always said. For her, order was our protection. Once at the field, we divided the work: some gathered, and some arranged the load.
The sun was relentless. In the evening, we returned home drained, with our hands dirty with earth and our heads too heavy for the school book.
Homework often remained incomplete; and the next day brought double punishment: the teacher’s scolding and the feeling of always being one step behind.
For a long time, I hated that period; I hated the toil, the dust, and even the harvest that stole our youth. But now, I’m here in my kitchen, letting my fingers glide over the dough with a slow, almost hypnotic movement.
I press the dough with my thumb to form the pisarei, realizing it’s the same gesture I used to shell beans back then. A rhythm that returns from the memory of the fingers to the heart; that movement that once meant sacrifice, today has become a prayer, a sacred rite.
A way to bring back time. And today, with this gesture, I have finally made peace with my story. To make pisarei with beans, you need: flour, fine breadcrumbs, warm water, salt. Combine the flour with the breadcrumbs and gradually add the water, knead well after salting, form small sausages, cut into small pieces, and press with your thumb on the work surface; they will form the pisarei. In a pan, brown the sausage, peeled and cut into pieces, add the pre-cooked beans with an aromatic bundle. (In the past, black-eyed beans were used; today, both Borlotti and Cannellini beans are used.) Add a glass of tomato sauce and cook on low heat for about an hour.
Boil the pisarei in salted boiling water and add to the sauce.
To discover other cooking stories:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Cheap
- Preparation time: 1 Hour
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients for the pisarei
Breadcrumbs, flour, water, and salt
- 10.6 oz flour
- 5.3 oz breadcrumbs (Fine)
- 7.1 oz sausage
- 10.6 oz cooked beans (Black-eyed, Borlotti, or Cannellini beans. Cooked with an aromatic bundle. With a little cooking water.)
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- to taste olive oil
- to taste salt
- to taste water (Warm.)
Tools
You will need a bowl for kneading and a pan for browning the sauce; finally, a pot to cook the pisarei. You can find my purchase advice with the tools I use
- Bowls
- Wok
Steps
Combine all ingredients: flour, breadcrumbs, salt, and water added gradually.
Knead until you get a firm but elastic dough.
Then form small sausages with a diameter of about 0.6 inches and cut into 0.4-inch pieces. Drag with your thumb to form a hollow gnocchetto. Leave on the board until use.
In a large pan – I often use the wok for convenience – or a terracotta pot, brown the skinned and crumbled sausage, add the previously boiled beans…
And the tomato sauce. If you use purchased sauce while browning the sausage, add two tablespoons of soffritto (chopped carrot, celery, and onion). I use my already seasoned sauce. Let it cook over low heat for about an hour.
Boil the pisarei in salted boiling water and transfer them into the sauce. Two minutes to blend the flavors and they’re ready. Excellent with a sprinkle of black or red pepper.
Some additional advice
I have illustrated the steps starting with the pisarei; naturally, you can also reverse the order; while the sauce cooks, shape the pisarei. Instead of sausage, you can use browned bacon. You can also freeze the pisarei prepared a few days in advance. Personally, I add a bit of chili pepper, although the original recipe does not call for it.
