Minestra di Farro alla Garfagnana

The night before, place the farro and the cannellini beans in two separate bowls, cover each generously with cold water, and leave to soak overnight, so both open up gradually from within and cook evenly through to the centre rather than swelling fast on the outside and remaining chalky within. Drain and rinse each before cooking. The farro grains will have swelled visibly and taken on a pale, opaque cast — this is correct.

Cook the drained cannellini beans in a separate pot of unsalted cold water, brought slowly to a simmer; starting them in cold rather than boiling water lets the skins ease open at the same rate as the flesh, so they stay whole. Cook at a gentle, uncovered simmer until completely tender throughout — 60 to 90 minutes depending on the age of the beans — then salt only in the final 10 minutes, so the skins do not tighten and leave the centres undercooked. Drain, reserving the cooking liquid, then divide the beans into two equal portions: pass one half through a food mill or blend to a smooth purée — it should be thick enough to hold a spoon's trail briefly, not watery — and leave the other half whole.

In a large, heavy pot set over medium heat, warm a film of olive oil, add the diced pancetta and its reserved rind, and render until the fat is translucent and the edges of the pancetta are beginning to colour — 5 to 7 minutes — so the fat runs clear and carries the pork's savour into every subsequent layer of the soup. The rind will soften but not dissolve at this stage; leave it in the pot, where it will continue to give body to the broth as the soup cooks.

Add the onion, celery, carrot, and garlic to the pancetta fat and cook the soffritto over low to medium heat, stirring occasionally, until fully softened, sweet-smelling, and without any raw sharpness — 12 to 15 minutes — because a soffritto that still carries a sharp edge will fight the mild, nutty character of the farro rather than support it. Add the sage leaves and stir through for 1 minute until fragrant.

Add the drained, soaked farro to the soffritto and stir to coat each grain in the fat, so the grains are sealed lightly before the liquid goes in and will release their starch gradually rather than all at once. Pour over the water or stock — approximately 1.5 litres — add the Parmesan rind, and bring to a steady simmer. This is where the dish lives or dies: cook uncovered at a low, persistent simmer for 45 to 60 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes and adding reserved bean cooking liquid as needed to maintain a loose, porridge-like consistency, allowing the farro its full unhurried time so each grain swells, softens entirely to the core, and releases its starch slowly into the broth, producing the characteristic creamy, gelatinous body that only Triticum monococcum yields — the farro is done when a grain pressed between the fingers offers no hard centre and the broth has thickened visibly around the grain.

Stir in the bean purée and fold through the whole beans, then simmer gently for a further 10 minutes so the purée integrates fully and draws into the broth rather than sitting as a separate layer. The soup should now be thick — it will hold a brief furrow drawn across its surface with a spoon — with intact whole beans visible throughout. Remove and discard the pancetta rind and Parmesan rind, then adjust salt.

Place a slice of toasted, garlic-rubbed Garfagnana bread in each warmed bowl and ladle the minestra over the bread. Finish each bowl with a generous pour of raw Garfagnana IGP extra-virgin olive oil directly onto the surface and never into the pot, so the oil keeps its grassy, peppery fragrance instead of cooking off into the background. The oil should pool briefly before the bowl reaches the table.