P
Italian · Sardinia
Supa de Marò con Fave e Pecorino Sardo
A Sardinian pastoral soup of dried fava beans slow-cooked until they dissolve into a dense, silky purée, finished with aged Pecorino Sardo and wild fennel fronds. The term 'marò' refers to the pounding of the beans — traditionally stone-milled — giving a slightly rough, textured consistency rather than a smooth cream. Drizzled with raw olive oil and eaten with carta musica.
I
The Market List
The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.
400 g
dried peeled split fava beans
soaked 2–3 hours only, drained
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
1.2 l
water
cold
Your own market
1 piece
aged Pecorino Sardo rind
added to the cooking water for depth
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
20 g
wild fennel fronds
roughly torn; or 1 tsp fennel seeds if unavailable
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
60 g
aged Pecorino Sardo
finely grated
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
60 ml
extra-virgin olive oil
Sardinian Coratina preferred; raw, for finishing
Your own market
4 sheets
carta di musica
to serve
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
II
The Method
1
Soak the split fava beans in cold water for 2–3 hours. Drain. Do not exceed this window — prolonged soaking causes the beans to lose structure and turn gluey rather than silky.
2
Place the drained favas in a heavy-based pot with 1.2 l of cold water and the Pecorino rind. Bring slowly to a bare simmer over low heat. No higher — favas scorch easily on the bottom without constant attention.
3
Cook at the lowest possible heat for 2 full hours, stirring regularly to prevent the base from catching. This is where the dish lives or dies: insufficient time or excessive heat will produce neither the characteristic silky density nor the slightly rough, stone-milled texture that defines marò — the beans must dissolve entirely of their own accord into a dense purée.
4
Remove and discard the Pecorino rind. Add the wild fennel fronds — or fennel seeds — in the final 10 minutes of cooking only. Their anise notes are volatile; earlier addition drives them off. The soup should carry a faint, clean anise scent.
5
Remove the pot from the heat entirely. Stir in the grated Pecorino Sardo off the heat — adding it to the soup while still over the flame causes it to become stringy. Taste, then season with salt only now; Pecorino is very salty and the dish can over-salt without notice.
6
Ladle into bowls. Drizzle each portion with a generous quantity of raw olive oil — the grassy, peppery bitterness of Coratina is the correct contrast to the sweet favas. Serve immediately with carta di musica on the side.
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — Dried peeled split favas sourced from a named Sardinian or Sicilian producer; aged Pecorino Sardo DOP from the Nuoro interior; single-estate Sardinian Coratina olive oil; fresh wild fennel foraged or market-sourced.
02
Estate — Italian-origin split fava beans; Pecorino Sardo DOP from any reliable affineur; a good Sardinian or southern Italian extra-virgin olive oil; cultivated fennel fronds, well trimmed to the finer stems.
03
Market — Any reliable dried peeled split fava beans; Pecorino Romano as a substitute; a fruity, peppery extra-virgin olive oil; fennel seeds steeped briefly in warm water to approximate the frond's character.
04
House — Standard dried split favas from any wholesale supplier; a hard sheep's milk cheese in the Pecorino style; any decent extra-virgin olive oil; dried fennel seed used whole. The dish remains honest but loses its pastoral refinement.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Touch. A soaked fava pressed between two fingers yields completely but does not smear into paste — it holds a moment before breaking; this is the correct soak point.
◇Sight. After 2 hours the surface of the soup shows no whole beans — the mass is uniformly dense and moves slowly when stirred, pulling away from the sides of the pot.
◇Smell. The addition of wild fennel fronds in the final 10 minutes releases a clean, distinct anise note that should be perceptible without lifting the lid.
◇Touch. A spoonful lifted and allowed to fall back into the pot drops in a slow, heavy ribbon — neither liquid nor stiff — confirming the correct silky density of the marò.
◇Where it lives or dies. The soup lives or dies at the two-hour low simmer: only sustained, patient heat dissolves the favas into the dense, silky-rough purée that defines marò — rushing or scorching the base is unrecoverable.
Pillar V
Cross-cuisine parallels are part of membership.
The dishes this one teaches you, across the cuisines — on every recipe.
Enter · from $49 a year
VI
What to Pour
The pairing
Sparkling wine
From British Columbia
Wine
Without alcohol
GT's Synergy Organic Kombucha — Gingerade
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Non-alcoholic
Why each one works is part of membership — Enter · from $49 a year →
The whole pairingPillar VII
Origin and lineage are part of membership.
Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
Enter · from $49 a year