Puglia — one of the most ancient dishes of the Apulian interior. Broad beans have been cultivated in the Mediterranean since the Neolithic period; the combination of bean purée and wild bitter greens is documented in ancient Greek and Roman sources from the area.
Fave e cicoria is one of the most ancient and essential dishes of Puglia: a purée of dried broad beans (fave secche) cooked slowly until they collapse into a thick, creamy stew, served alongside blanched and sautéed wild chicory in olive oil and garlic. The combination — creamy, starchy bean purée and bitter, slightly garlicky wild greens — is one of the great contrasts in Italian cooking. It represents thousands of years of Mediterranean subsistence cooking distilled to two ingredients and olive oil.
The broad bean purée is starchy, earthy, and mild — like the ground itself. The wild chicory is intensely bitter, slightly mineral, and just touched with garlic heat. The olive oil between them provides the fat that bridges the two flavour registers. This is one of the most satisfying vegetable dishes in Italy — ancient, honest, and complete.
Dried broad beans (fave secche, split and skinned) are soaked overnight and cooked slowly in water with a potato and a drizzle of olive oil until they dissolve completely — this requires 1.5-2 hours and patient stirring as the beans collapse. Season aggressively with salt at the end only. The result should be thick and cream-like. Cicoria selvatica (wild chicory) or cultivated cicoria di Catalogna is blanched in boiling water 5-8 minutes until tender, drained, then sautéed briefly in olive oil with garlic and chilli. Serve the bean purée in a mound with the chicory alongside and a generous pool of extra-virgin olive oil.
The potato cooked with the beans adds starch and creaminess — don't skip it. Pass the cooked beans through a food mill or blend briefly with an immersion blender for a smoother texture if desired, but the rough, hand-mashed version is traditional. Cicoria selvatica (if foraging in Puglia in spring) has a more complex bitterness than cultivated chicory — it is worth seeking out.
Using fresh broad beans — dried, split fave are required; the texture and flavour are completely different. Salting during cooking — the bean skins harden and the beans don't collapse properly. Under-cooking — the beans must be completely dissolved, not just soft. Not finishing with enough olive oil — this is the binding flavour element; a thin drizzle is insufficient.
Slow Food Editore, Puglia in Cucina; Elizabeth David, Italian Food