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Italian · V The Canonical Dishes · Puglia

Fave e Cicoria — Dried Fava Purée with Wild Chicory

Puglia

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I

Origin

Puglia — fave e cicoria is pan-Pugliese but most strongly identified with the Brindisi and Lecce provinces. The wild cicoria selvatica is foraged from January through April across the Tavoliere and the Salento plains. The dried fava bean is among the oldest cultivated legumes in the Mediterranean, documented in archaeological remains from 6000 BC in the Puglia region.

II

Description

Fave e cicoria is the most celebrated Pugliese dish and one of the greatest preparations in Italian cooking — a smooth, dense purée of dried fava beans cooked down to an almost frothy consistency, served alongside boiled wild chicory (cicoria selvatica) dressed simply with olive oil. The opposition of the mild, slightly sweet fava purée and the intensely bitter, almost astringent wild chicory is the point of the dish. Without the bitterness of wild chicory, fave e cicoria is pleasant but not revelatory. With genuine cicoria selvatica (not the milder cultivated variety), it is one of the defining flavour experiences of southern Italian cooking.

III

The Thread

—Dried fava beans cooked to a thick, creamy purée dressed with olive oil and aromatics — the Egyptian ful medames and the Pugliese fave e cicoria are parallel preparations of dried fava beans; both are ancient staple preparations using the same legume; the Pugliese version pairs the purée with bitter greens for contrast Egyptian
—A smooth purée of dried split legumes served with bitter wild greens dressed in olive oil — the Santorini fava (split yellow peas, not fava beans) served with capers and wild greens and the Pugliese fave e cicoria are structurally identical preparations; smooth legume purée plus bitter greens plus olive oil is the foundational Mediterranean peasant combination Greek
IV

Flavour Context

Fave e cicoria on the plate is a study in opposites: the pale, ivory-beige fava purée is mild, sweet, and velvety; the dark-green cicoria, piled alongside, is intensely bitter and slightly chewy. A puddle of raw Pugliese olive oil sits in the hollow of the purée. The first spoonful combines all three elements — the contrast of flavours is immediate and vivid. It is one of those preparations where simplicity becomes complexity.

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