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1
Place the soaked, drained cannellini beans in a large pot with the garlic cloves and sage leaves. Cover generously with fresh cold water and bring to a simmer. Cook, uncovered, for 45 minutes. The beans should be partially tender — yielding at the centre but not yet fully cooked. Reserve all cooking liquid.
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2
Place the pork rinds in a separate pot, cover with cold water, and boil for 30 minutes. Drain. While still hot, scrape each rind thoroughly on the inner fatty side with a knife to remove any hairs and excess fat; the surface should be clean and smooth. Roll each rind tightly lengthways and tie with kitchen string to hold its shape.
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3
Warm the olive oil in a wide, heavy pot over moderate heat. Add the celery and cook until softened and translucent, without colour. Add the chilli. Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomato has collapsed and the oil has separated to the surface — approximately 15 minutes. The base should smell sweet and concentrated, no longer raw.
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4
This is where the dish lives or dies. Add the semi-cooked beans together with all their cooking liquid to the soffritto base. Nestle the rolled and tied cotiche among the beans. The liquid should barely cover everything; add a little water if needed. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook, covered, for a further 45 minutes, turning the cotiche rolls once. The broth will thicken as the cotiche release their collagen; the beans must be completely tender but still intact, and the broth must be body-rich and viscous — not thin or watery. If too thin, remove the lid and reduce briefly.
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5
Remove the cotiche rolls. Cut and discard the string. Slice the rolls into rounds and return them to the surface of the soup. Taste and adjust for salt. Ladle into deep bowls, placing rounds of cotiche on top. Serve immediately, with thick slices of toasted pane casareccio, if available, for the broth to saturate.