Pisarei e fasò

Method

1. 1 Soak borlotti beans for 8 hours, then cook for 50 minutes until tender but the skins remain intact.
2. 2 Soak the breadcrumbs in warm water for 10 minutes, then gently squeeze out the excess water and knead them together with the flour until a smooth dough is formed.
3. 3 The soft inner part of the bread is what makes pisarei soft, not chewy like egg noodles; without it, the dish would just be floury gnocchi.
4. 4 Roll the dough into 1 cm strips, then cut them into 1.5 cm pieces and press each piece into a boat shape with your thumb.
5. 5 Cook the onions with canned tomatoes and a portion of the mashed beans for 25 minutes until thickened into a sauce.
6. 6 Boil the pisarei for 4 minutes until they float to the surface, then mix them into the sauce with whole beans and sprinkle with Parmigiano.

With an appliance

• Pressure cooker 55 min

  Replace step 1: cook the soaked borlotti beans under high pressure for 12 minutes, then let them air dry for 10 minutes to soften them without the skins breaking; keep some beans whole for step 6, and continue cooking the sauce with the lid open for 25 minutes in step 5.