P
Italian · Molise
Tacconi con Fave e Pancetta alla Molisana
Tacconi are broad, irregular hand-torn pasta squares — made from a coarse mix of semolina and farro or barley flour — that are roughly torn rather than cut, giving them uneven edges that grip sauce. The sauce is a simple combination of fresh fave (shelled broad beans) or rehydrated dried fave, pancetta tesa (flat cured pork belly) cut into lardons and rendered until crisp, onion softened in the pancetta fat, and a ladleful of pasta cooking water to bind. The cooked tacconi are tossed vigorously in this sauce with torn flat-leaf parsley and grated Pecorino. A dish of spring or late winter depending on whether fresh or dried fave are used.
I
The Market List
The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.
For the tacconi dough
200 g
semolina (semola rimacinata)
Origin · ItalyBosa Foods · Vancouver →
100 g
farro or barley flour
coarse grind
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
150 ml
water
tepid; adjust as needed to bring dough together
Your own market
For the sauce
150 g
pancetta tesa
cut into lardons
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
1 medium
onion
finely sliced
Your own market
400 g
fave (broad beans)
fresh and shelled, or dried and rehydrated; if fresh and more than half-grown, blanched and inner skins removed
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
1 ladle (approx. 100 ml)
pasta cooking water
reserved just before draining
Your own market
To finish
40 g
Pecorino
finely grated
Your own market
1 small bunch
flat-leaf parsley
leaves torn
Your own market
Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.
II
The Method
1
Combine the semolina and farro or barley flour in a bowl. Add tepid water gradually, working the mixture until a rough, firm dough forms. Knead on an unfloured surface until the dough is cohesive but still slightly coarse to the touch. Wrap and rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. The dough is ready when it no longer springs back immediately under thumb pressure.
2
Roll the rested dough out to a thickness of 3–4 mm — it need not be even. Tear the sheet by hand into broad, irregular squares of roughly 5–7 cm. The torn edges must be ragged and uneven; this is where the dish lives or dies — scissors or a pastry wheel produce uniform edges that will not grip the sauce as torn edges do.
3
Place the pancetta lardons in a cold, wide pan. Set over a medium flame and render slowly, stirring occasionally, until the fat has fully liquefied and the lardons are deeply golden and crisp. The rendered fat is the sauce base; do not proceed until the pancetta is fully crisp and the pan holds a visible pool of clear fat.
4
Add the sliced onion to the pancetta fat. Soften over a low flame, stirring, until the onion is translucent and yielding with no colour. It should offer no resistance when pressed against the side of the pan.
5
Add the fave to the pan. If using fresh young fave, cook at a gentle simmer for 3–4 minutes; if using dried and rehydrated fave, simmer for 8–10 minutes. The fave are ready when they are just tender throughout but hold their shape and retain a vivid colour — they should not be grey or collapsing.
6
Bring a large pan of well-salted water to a full boil. Cook the tacconi, stirring to prevent sticking, until they are tender with a faint residual bite. Reserve a full ladle of cooking water before draining.
7
Add the drained tacconi to the pan of fave and pancetta. Pour in the reserved cooking water and toss vigorously over a medium flame for 1–2 minutes. The starch from the cooking water emulsifies the pancetta fat into a glossy, clinging sauce that coats each piece of pasta evenly. The sauce is ready when it appears silky rather than oily and clings to the tacconi on lifting with a spoon.
8
Remove from the heat. Add the torn parsley and grated Pecorino, toss once more to distribute, and serve immediately. The finished plate should smell of rendered pork fat, sweet legume, and fresh herb.
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — Tacconi made from stone-milled farro flour and semolina from a single Molisan mill; fave pulled the morning of cooking from young spring pods, the inner skins removed by hand; aged Pecorino di Filiano or Pecorino Molisano from a named producer; pancetta tesa from a traditional Molisan salumeria.
02
Estate — Good-quality farro or barley flour from a specialist grain supplier; fresh fave from a trusted market stall at the correct seasonal moment; PDO Pecorino Romano; artisan pancetta tesa from an Italian delicatessen.
03
Market — Supermarket farro flour blended with semolina; fresh or frozen shelled broad beans (inner skins removed if large); standard Pecorino Romano; vacuum-packed pancetta tesa cut to order.
04
House — All-semolina dough with a proportion of wholemeal flour as a partial substitute for farro; dried and rehydrated fave, well-soaked; pre-grated Pecorino; diced smoked pancetta if tesa is unavailable — note that smokiness will alter the dish's character.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Touch. Rested dough does not spring back immediately when pressed with the thumb — it holds the impression.
◇Sight. Torn pasta edges are ragged and irregular, not smooth or straight.
◇Sight. Pancetta lardons are deeply golden and crisp; the pan holds a clear pool of rendered fat.
◇Sight. Fave are tender and vivid in colour — not grey or broken.
◇Sight. Finished sauce appears glossy and silky, coating the tacconi without pooling as separate fat in the pan.
◇Where it lives or dies. The pasta must be torn by hand into broad, irregular squares — the ragged edges are the sole mechanism by which the sauce adheres; any cut edge defeats the dish.
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VI
What to Pour
The pairing
Wine
From British Columbia
Wine
Without alcohol
GT's Synergy Organic Kombucha — Gingerade
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Non-alcoholic
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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.
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Sourced through Provenance