Molise — transhumance country between the Apennines and the Adriatic foothills. The combination of beans and pork scraps (cotiche were the cheapest pork product, not the most valued) is the defining logic of Molisano cucina povera.
Molise — Italy's second-smallest and least-known region, tucked between Abruzzo to the north, Campania to the south, and Puglia to the east — has a cooking tradition of radical simplicity rooted in transhumance and seasonal mountain poverty. Zuppa di fagioli e cotiche (bean soup with pork rinds) is one of its defining preparations: dried borlotti or cannellini beans slow-cooked with pork rinds (cotiche), celery, carrot, garlic, and tomato until the beans are completely tender and the cotiche have given all their collagen to the broth. The soup is dense, unctuous, and deeply satisfying — the gelatin from the cotiche gives it a body that stock cannot replicate.
The bean-and-rind soup of Molise is not refined — it is frank, nourishing, and honest. The beans are earthy and sweet; the cotiche contribute a gelatinous richness that coats the palate; the tomato adds enough acid to lift the whole. It is the kind of soup that makes you understand why people kept making it for centuries.
Soak dried beans overnight. Blanch pork rinds (cotiche) in boiling water for 5 minutes to remove excess fat, then cut into strips (3-4cm). In a heavy pot, soften onion, celery, carrot, and garlic in lard or olive oil. Add soaked beans, pork rind strips, a piece of pork lard or pancetta, chopped tomatoes, and water or light stock to cover generously. Season lightly with salt (pork rinds are salty). Simmer very gently for 2-2.5 hours until the beans are completely tender and the cotiche are soft and gelatinous. The soup should be thick and coating. Adjust seasoning, add a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil, and serve with rough country bread.
The cotiche are what separate this from a standard bean soup — their gelatin transforms the broth. Ask a butcher for fresh pork rinds (not pre-smoked). A sprig of rosemary added in the last 30 minutes gives a herbal note without dominating. The soup is always better the next day — reheated, the beans and cotiche fully integrate.
Using pork rinds without blanching first — they carry excess lard that will make the soup greasy. Adding salt aggressively early — the pork rinds and pancetta add substantial salt as they cook. Boiling rather than simmering — the beans break down and the soup loses texture definition. Not cooking long enough — undercooked cotiche are tough and chewy; they need 2+ hours to become gelatinous.
Slow Food Editore, Molise in Cucina; Elizabeth David, Italian Food