Fagioli all’uccelletto, a typical Tuscan recipe, super easy and based on beans, tomato, sage, and little else, which works as a first course or side dish, and is prepared in a jiffy. I think it’s perfect that legumes are good for your health. First, because I love them and, second, because they don’t cost much money. The only problem they have is that many of them need to be soaked and cooked for quite a while. For today’s recipe, if you are feeling lazy or don’t have time, you can buy pre-cooked beans and there’s no problem at all.
The name “all’uccelletto” beans, which means “little bird style,” was given to them because some small game birds, like partridge, were prepared with exactly the same seasonings as these beans. There is also a version made with sausage, but since, on one hand, I always try to keep vegetarians in mind and, on the other, having tried both, I prefer to make the sausage on its own and then eat it with the beans as a side dish, I have decided to share the version suitable for everyone which, moreover, is the most well-known.
I hope you like them!
Visit my YouTube channel
If you haven't already, I invite you to subscribe to my YouTube channel so you don't miss any new recipes.Don't forget to follow me on Instagram! There I share more recipes, tips, and special content for Italian food lovers.
The latest video recipes from my channel!
The card
- 250 g cooked beans or 125 g dried
- 200 g Italian tomato "passata" or tomato sauce
- 1 garlic clove
- 4 sage leaves
- Salt
- Virgin olive oil
- Black pepper
- If you want to cook the beans yourself: Soak the beans for 12 hours, with four times their volume in water. Drain them, put them in a pot with cold water and salt to taste, and bring them to a boil over low heat so their skins don't burst. Continue simmering over low heat until they are cooked.
- If you use canned beans, simply put them in a colander so they lose the liquid they were preserved in and set them aside until you need to use them.
- Brown the garlic clove and the sage leaves with a drizzle of oil in a pan large enough to hold the tomato sauce and the beans later.
- Remove the garlic when it is golden and add the beans to the pan.
- Sauté the beans and add the tomato "passata" or tomato sauce.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste and let everything cook together over medium heat for 10 minutes.
- Serve with a drizzle of virgin olive oil on top.