Tonno del Chianti con Fagioli

Combine the salt, stripped sage, rosemary needles, and bruised garlic in a shallow dish. Roll the pork loin in the mixture, pressing firmly so the aromatics adhere on all sides. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours. The cure is complete when the surface of the meat feels distinctly firmer and well-seasoned to a fingertip press.

Remove the loin from the refrigerator. Rinse off all the cure under cold water and pat the meat thoroughly dry with kitchen paper. Select a deep, narrow saucepan in which the loin fits snugly. Place the peppercorns, bay leaves, and sage sprigs in the pan, then lay the pork on top. Pour over sufficient olive oil to submerge the loin completely — no part of the pork may remain exposed. Set the pan over the lowest possible heat and bring the oil slowly to 80–85 °C. This is where the dish lives or dies: the oil must never approach a boil; a thermometer is the only reliable guide. A surface shiver and the faintest occasional bubble at the pan base are the correct signs.

Maintain the oil at 80–85 °C and poach the loin for 1.5 to 2 hours. The pork is done when a skewer inserted at the centre meets no resistance and withdraws cleanly, and when the meat yields immediately to gentle pressure from tongs — moist and soft, not springy.

Remove the pan from the heat and allow the pork to cool entirely in its oil. Do not lift the meat from the oil at any stage of cooling. Once at room temperature, transfer the loin with its aromatics to a sterilised glass jar and cover completely with the poaching oil. Seal and refrigerate; the preparation keeps for up to 3 weeks. The oil will congeal in the refrigerator — this is correct.

Remove the jar from the refrigerator at least one hour before serving. The oil must be fully liquid and clear before the pork is touched; congealed oil on the meat signals it is still too cold. Lift the loin onto a board and flake it with two forks along the natural grain into generous, irregular pieces — the texture should be moist and yielding, pulling apart without shredding to paste.

Dress the warm or room-temperature cannellini beans with olive oil (or the strained poaching oil) and salt. Arrange the beans on a serving dish, scatter the sliced red onion over them, and lay the flaked pork across the top. Finish with a final turn of olive oil. The dish is ready when every element is at room temperature and the oil runs freely across the surface — glossy, not pooled.