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Pisarei e fasò

17/11/2023

The dish “Pisarei e fasò” is a classic of the cuisine of Piacenza, a city in Emilia-Romagna. This egg pasta dish with beans is an example of simple yet extremely flavorful cooking, full of nuances. Here’s the recipe.

Ingredients

  • For the pisarei (small gnocchi):
    • 200 g of wheat flour
    • 100 g of breadcrumbs
    • water as needed
  • For the sauce (fasò):
    • 400 g of borlotti beans
    • 150 g of pancetta
    • 1 onion
    • 1 carrot
    • 1 celery stalk
    • 400 ml of tomato puree
    • vegetable broth as needed
    • salt and pepper as needed
    • extra virgin olive oil
    • grated Parmesan cheese for serving

Preparation

  1. Start by preparing the pisarei. In a bowl, mix the flour with the breadcrumbs and gradually add water until a dough is formed, which should not be too soft.
  2. Form thin cylinders with the dough and cut them into pieces about 2 cm long. Gently press each piece with your thumb to get the classic concave shape of pisarei.
  3. Now let’s proceed with the sauce. Soak the beans the night before.
  4. The following day, drain the beans and cook them in fresh water for about an hour or until they are tender.
  5. In another pot, sauté the chopped onion, carrot, and celery in a bit of oil until they soften. Add the diced pancetta and let it brown.
  6. Add the tomato puree, season with salt and pepper, and let the sauce cook for about 15 minutes.
  7. Add the cooked beans and a bit of vegetable broth to prevent the sauce from drying out too much and let it simmer for about 30 minutes.
  8. Meanwhile, cook the pisarei in plenty of salted boiling water. As soon as they float to the surface, use a slotted spoon to remove them and transfer them directly into the bean sauce.
  9. Let the pisarei absorb the flavors in the sauce for a few minutes.
  10. Serve the pisarei e fasò hot, with plenty of grated Parmesan cheese on top.

Trivia

The word “Pisarei” probably derives from the dialect term “pisar,” which means to press or crush, referring to the action of pressing the dough with the thumb to create the concave shape characteristic of these small gnocchi. This dish is much-loved in the Piacenza tradition and is often served during special occasions or holidays.