Tacconi con Fave e Pancetta alla Molisana

Ingredients

• For the tacconi dough
• 200 g semolina (semola rimacinata)
• 100 g farro or barley flour, coarse grind
• 150 ml water, tepid; adjust as needed to bring dough together
• For the sauce
• 150 g pancetta tesa, cut into lardons
• 1 medium onion, finely sliced
• 400 g fave (broad beans), fresh and shelled, or dried and rehydrated; if fresh and more than half-grown, blanched and inner skins removed
• 1 ladle (approx. 100 ml) pasta cooking water, reserved just before draining
• To finish
• 40 g Pecorino, finely grated
• 1 small bunch flat-leaf parsley, leaves torn

Method

1. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.