P
Italian · Abruzzo
Sagna Torta con Fagioli Borlotti Abruzzese
Twisted pasta squares (sagne torte — pasta squares cut then twisted by pressing one corner down) combined with Borlotti beans in a hearty, smoky-fatback-based soup from the Abruzzo mountains. The pasta is handmade from flour and water, cut into 5cm squares, and each square twisted by pressing the opposite corners in opposite directions. This shape creates irregular, cupped pasta that traps the thick bean broth. Guanciale or lardo is rendered as the fat base; dried chilli provides heat; the soup is thick enough to stand a wooden spoon in.
I
The Market List
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For the sagne torte
300 g
durum semolina (semola di grano duro rimacinata)
Origin · ItalyBosa Foods · Vancouver →
150 ml
water
lukewarm
Your own market
For the bean soup
350 g
dried Borlotti beans
soaked overnight in cold water, drained
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
120 g
guanciale or lardo
cut into small dice
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
2
dried peperoncino
1 left whole for cooking, 1 crumbled for finishing
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
1.5 litres
water
for cooking the beans
Your own market
To finish
30 ml
Abruzzo extra-virgin olive oil
DOP Aprutino Pescarese or Colline Teatine preferred; to drizzle raw over each bowl
Your own market
1 tsp
fine sea salt
added only after beans are fully soft
Your own market
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II
The Method
1
Combine the durum semolina and lukewarm water on a work surface. Work the dough for 8–10 minutes until it is smooth, firm, and holds a clean impression when pressed. Wrap and rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. The dough should feel supple but not tacky.
2
Roll the rested dough to a thickness of 2–3 mm. Cut into 5 cm squares. Immediately — while the dough is still pliable — twist each square by pressing one corner down against the board with one thumb while lifting and rotating the opposite corner with the other hand. The result is an irregular, cupped form. Set the twisted sagne on a lightly floured cloth. They must be shaped before the surface dries; a square that resists twisting without cracking has been left too long.
3
Place the soaked, drained Borlotti beans in a large pot with 1.5 litres of cold water and one whole dried peperoncino. Bring to a simmer and cook, uncovered, until the beans are completely tender throughout — 60 to 90 minutes depending on age. Do not salt the water at this stage. The beans are ready when a single bean crushes between two fingers without any hard core.
4
Remove and discard the whole peperoncino. Season the bean pot with fine sea salt. Remove one-third of the cooked beans and crush or blend them to a smooth paste, then return this paste to the pot. The soup should now be thick, opaque, and rust-coloured — capable of holding a wooden spoon briefly upright. This dual creamy-chunky texture is the structural identity of the dish.
5
In a separate small pan, render the diced guanciale or lardo over a medium flame until the fat runs clear and the meat is lightly golden at the edges. Add the crumbled peperoncino and let it sizzle for no more than 30 seconds. Pour the rendered fat, meat, and chilli directly into the bean pot. The soup should take on a perceptible smokiness.
From the canon — Guanciale (from 'guancia' — cheek) is the cured pig's jowl that is foundational to Roman cooking — the fat used in amatriciana, carbonara, cacio e pepe's ric… Guanciale — Cured Pig's Cheek of Lazio and Abruzzo →
6
This is where the dish lives or dies: bring the bean soup to a steady, active simmer and add the sagne torte directly to the pot. Cook in the bean liquid for 12–15 minutes only. The pasta starch thickens the soup further; the bean liquid flavours the pasta from within. Pull the pot from the heat the moment a piece of pasta is tender but still offers faint resistance at the very centre — it will continue to soften in the residual heat. Pasta cooked beyond this point loses the structural distinction between the sagne and the bean cream.
7
Ladle into warmed deep bowls. The soup should be thick enough that it mounds slightly before settling. Drizzle each bowl with raw Abruzzo extra-virgin olive oil. Serve immediately; the soup tightens considerably as it cools.
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — Heirloom Borlotti varieties (Lamon, Lingua di Fuoco) sourced from a named Abruzzo producer; home-ground durum semolina from a single-variety hard wheat; aged guanciale from free-range Abruzzo pig; DOP Aprutino Pescarese olive oil, first cold press.
02
Estate — Labelled Italian dried Borlotti, soaked overnight; commercial semola rimacinata of good extraction; quality cured guanciale from an Italian salumeria; a named Abruzzo DOP extra-virgin olive oil.
03
Market — Standard dried Borlotti from a supermarket; widely available semola rimacinata; pancetta tesa substituted for guanciale with some loss of the characteristic pork-jaw fat flavour; any good Italian extra-virgin olive oil.
04
House — Dried Borlotti of uncertain origin, still soaked overnight — tinned beans are not acceptable at any rung, as the canned liquid cannot provide the required soup body; semola rimacinata at minimum; lardo or rendered fatback in place of guanciale.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Touch. The sagne dough is ready to rest when it holds a clean thumbprint without springing back and feels smooth across the entire surface.
◇Touch. Each pasta square must twist without cracking — resistance or cracking signals the surface has dried and the square cannot be shaped.
◇Touch. The beans are fully cooked when a single bean crushes between two fingers with no hard core remaining.
◇Sight. After blending one-third of the beans back into the pot, the soup should be thick, opaque, and rust-coloured — dense enough to hold a wooden spoon briefly upright.
◇Smell. Once the rendered guanciale fat and chilli enter the soup, a clean, smoky pork fragrance should be immediately perceptible.
◇Sight. In the finished bowl, the soup should mound slightly above the rim of the ladle before settling — if it pours thin, it has been over-thinned or the pasta has not yet released sufficient starch.
◇Where it lives or dies. The dish is decided when the sagne torte are added to the simmering bean soup and cooked for no more than 15 minutes: pulled a breath too late, the pasta surrenders its structure and the soup loses the textural contrast between twisted pasta and bean cream that defines it.
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VI
What to Pour
A structured, tannic central-Italian red with enough body to stand against the smoky guanciale and earthy bean broth — Montepulciano d'Abruzzo is the natural companion, its dark fruit and firm tannin a direct regional counterpart to the dish's weight.
The whole pairingPillar VII
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Sourced through Provenance