Fagioli all'Uccelletto — White Beans in Sage and Tomato

Ingredients

• For the bean cooking
• 400 g dried cannellini beans, soaked overnight in cold water, drained
• 1 fresh sage leaf
• 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• For finishing
• 80 ml extra-virgin olive oil, generous measure
• 4 garlic cloves, whole, unpeeled or peeled but left intact — not minced
• 8 fresh sage leaves
• 8–10 whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes, crushed by hand (approximately 2–3 per person); or equivalent passata as a splash
• 1 tsp fine sea salt, adjust to taste
• 1 tsp black pepper, freshly ground

Method

1. 1
   Place the soaked, drained cannellini in a large pot. Cover generously with cold, unsalted water. Add one sage leaf and a drizzle of olive oil. Bring slowly to a simmer and cook, uncovered, over low heat for 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours, skimming any foam in the early stages. The beans are ready when each one is completely tender throughout with no chalky centre — press one between thumb and forefinger; it should yield with no resistance.
2. 2
   Drain the beans, reserving the cooking liquid (the liquore). Set both aside separately.
3. 3
   In a wide, heavy pan, warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add the whole garlic cloves and fresh sage leaves. Cook gently, without stirring too frequently, until the garlic is evenly golden and the sage is fragrant and beginning to crisp at the edges. This is where the dish lives or dies: golden garlic carries sweetness and depth; if the garlic browns further it will turn bitter and corrupt the entire preparation.
4. 4
   Add the drained beans to the pan and turn them gently to coat in the sage-and-garlic oil. Add the hand-crushed whole peeled tomatoes. Season with salt and black pepper. Stir once to combine.
5. 5
   Cook over medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes, adding spoonfuls of the reserved bean cooking liquid as needed to prevent drying. The dish is ready when each bean is coated in a glossy, tomato-and-oil film and the pan holds almost no free liquid — the coating should be cohesive, neither soupy nor dry.
6. 6
   Taste and adjust salt. Serve immediately, or allow to cool and reheat: the beans absorb the tomato oil on standing and the second heating integrates the flavours more fully.