Florence, Tuscany
Florence's definitive bean preparation: cannellini beans slow-cooked in a soffritto of garlic, sage, and olive oil until just tender, then finished with crushed fresh tomatoes and simmered until the sauce coats every bean and the dish has the consistency of a thick, bean-studded tomato sauce. The name 'uccelletto' (little bird) refers to the sage, which was also used in small-bird preparations — sage-and-garlic-in-olive-oil was known as the 'uccelletto' seasoning. Served as a contorno (side dish) alongside sausages or grilled meats, but also eaten as a main course on its own with Tuscan bread.
Creamy cannellini, sweet garlic, sage fragrance, olive oil richness, and barely-cooked bright tomato — the most satisfying of all Tuscan vegetable preparations
The beans must be freshly cooked from dried (not canned) to absorb the olive oil and garlic during their final cooking stage. The soffritto must cook long enough (10-12 minutes) for the garlic to become sweet and golden — raw garlic in the finished dish is a defect. The tomatoes are added after the garlic-sage soffritto is established and cook only 15-20 minutes — long cooking loses the tomato's brightness. A generous pour of olive oil at the end (after the fire is off) is essential.
The beans are best cooked in a terracotta pot for the traditional preparation — the clay distributes heat evenly and adds a subtle mineral note. Cook the dried beans with a whole garlic clove, sage, and olive oil already — this pre-seasons them from within. For a more substantial preparation: add grilled Toscano sausages halved lengthwise to the finished beans for the canonical salsicce e fagioli combination.
Canned beans — they cannot absorb the olive oil during cooking the way freshly-cooked beans can. Over-cooking the tomato with the beans — 20 minutes maximum. Insufficient olive oil — the dish should appear oily-saucy, not dry. Removing the sage — it provides the aromatic foundation and gives the dish its name.
La Cucina Toscana — Giovanni Righi Parenti