Take a clay pot, a pound of speckled beans (borlotti beans), 2 cloves of garlic, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 200 grams of fresh short pasta, can of plum tomatoes, pinch of salt, 1 celery stick with leaves and you have a great pasta and fagioli meal. Add a glass of Chianti and you have an even better meal. My clay pots are my favorite pots to cook with, but I usually take them out only in winter to make hearty bean soups or stews, etc. They are made in Italy from clay produced here. They are somewhat cumbersome, and, of course, you do have to be extra careful not to drop the pot or the lid. I would never even attempt to take them on my flight back to the US-they would probably never make it back in one piece.
But if you want to experience a true pasta and fagioli soup -there is nothing like making one in these specially made clay pots.
Besides taking in the sparkling sunshine today on my stroll around town to get the beans and celery at our little farm store in ‘centro’- most of the beginning of my day was spent on making the bean soup -a recipe that will also be in one of the upcoming books.
And that is my souvenir and my special memory to share with you for today, sunshine in a small mountain town and speckled bean soup with fresh pasta, and a glass of chianti…
Today's souvenir is..
