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Italian · Molise

Taccozze e Fagioli — Rough Pasta and Beans of Molise

Taccozze are the rough, irregular diamond-shaped pasta of Molise — cut from an egg-and-flour (or semolina-and-water) dough with a knife in irregular shapes, intentionally uneven, because the roughness grips the bean broth and sauce more effectively than a smooth pasta. They are cooked directly in the bean pot alongside borlotti or cannellini beans, where they absorb the starchy bean broth and the rendered pork fat. The preparation is nearly identical to the Pugliese pasta e fagioli and the Abruzzese version, but the irregular diamond shape of the taccozze is specific to Molise and distinguishes the regional variant.

ServesFour portions
Sourced0of 9 in BC
Cook
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 beans
300 g
dried borlotti beans
soaked overnight in cold water, drained
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
150 g
pork rind (cotiche)
cut into strips
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
30 g
lard
rendered early in cooking
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
1 piece
aromatics (onion, celery, garlic)
as preferred for bean broth
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
For the taccozze
200 g
00 flour
or semolina for the traditional version
Your own market
2
eggs
for the 00-flour version; omit and use water for semolina version
Your own market
To finish
1 tsp
dried chilli
crumbled
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
4 tbsp
extra-virgin olive oil
raw, for finishing
Your own market
salt
added at the end only
Your own market
II

The Method

1
Place the drained borlotti, pork rind, and lard in a deep pot with enough cold water to cover generously. Add the aromatics. Bring slowly to a simmer and cook, partially covered, for 1.5–2 hours. The beans are ready when they yield completely without resistance at the centre.
2
While the beans cook, make the taccozze dough. Combine the flour and eggs (or semolina and water) and knead to a firm, smooth dough. Rest for 20 minutes. Roll to 3 mm. Make diagonal cuts in both directions at 3–4 cm intervals to produce rough, irregular diamonds — the unevenness is intentional and correct. The dough should hold its shape at the cut edge without springing back.
3
When the beans are almost completely tender, press a portion of them against the side of the pot with a spoon to release starch into the broth. The broth should turn opaque and faintly creamy in colour — this is the thickening on which the dish depends. This is where the dish lives or dies: pasta added before the beans are fully yielding will absorb the remaining liquid while the beans remain hard; the pot cannot recover.
4
Add the raw taccozze directly to the bean pot. Cook for 10–12 minutes, stirring occasionally. The pasta absorbs the remaining liquid and its own starch thickens the broth further. The soup is ready when the pasta is tender but still has body and the mixture has tightened to a dense, spoonable consistency — it should hold its shape briefly when stirred.
5
Season with salt only at this final stage. Ladle into warmed bowls. Finish each portion with raw extra-virgin olive oil and crumbled dried chilli. Serve immediately: the soup thickens dramatically as it cools.
III

Quality Hierarchy

01
Reserve — Freshly milled semolina from heritage grano duro, dried borlotti from a named Molisan or Ligurian producer, fatback or home-rendered lard, cotiche from a local pig, and late-harvest cold-pressed olive oil from Molise.
02
Estate — Good 00 flour, dried borlotti from an Italian deli, cotiche sourced from a butcher, and a Southern Italian extra-virgin olive oil of known provenance.
03
Market — Standard 00 flour, supermarket dried borlotti, pancetta rind as a substitute for cotiche, and any honest extra-virgin olive oil.
04
House — Tinned borlotti (drained and rinsed, cooking time reduced to 20 minutes), plain pork belly for fat, and a mild olive oil — the character of the dish is diminished but the preparation remains coherent.
IV

Sensory Tests

◇Touch. A bean pressed between two fingers yields at the centre with no hard core remaining.
◇Sight. The broth turns opaque and faintly cream-coloured after beans are pressed against the side of the pot.
◇Sight. The finished soup holds its shape briefly when stirred — dense and spoonable, not flowing like a broth.
◇Touch. The taccozze offer slight resistance at the bite but the surface is fully hydrated and no longer floury.
◇Where it lives or dies. The pasta must not enter the pot until the beans are almost completely tender — once the taccozze begin absorbing the broth, the beans cannot finish cooking and the dish cannot be corrected.
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VI

What to Pour

A medium-bodied, lightly tannic Southern Italian red — Montepulciano d'Abruzzo or a rustic Molisan Tintilia — with enough structure to stand against the bean starch and pork fat without overwhelming the dish. A young Primitivo would serve the same function. The chilli finish makes a wine with some fruit weight the correct choice.

The whole pairing
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