Gradoli’s typical products are famous and particularly sought after, not only for their quality, but also for the history that accompanies them. Located on the shores of Lake Bolsena, Gradoli offers a unique microclimate that favors the cultivation of delicious ingredients. Among these, Fagiolo del Purgatorio, a small tender white bean with a delicate flavor, stands out for its organoleptic qualities and centuries-old tradition. This legume, together with other local products such as Aleatico, Grechetto and extra virgin olive oil, gives life to dishes rich in flavor and history.
Today we offer a recipe that celebrates the Purgatory Bean: Pasta mixed with cream of white beans, mussels, vezzena and cocoa beans. This soup is a perfect example of how simple but high-quality ingredients can create an extraordinary dish that tells the story of the land and its traditions.
Ingredienti
per 4 persone
200 g of pasta Mischiata
1 kg of mussels
250 g white beans
150 g fresh cream
Vegetable broth to taste
2 shallots
Bay leaf to taste
Garlic to taste
A glass of white wine to taste
Vezzena flakes to taste
Chopped cocoa beans to taste q.b.
Extra-virgin olive oil to taste q.b.
Procedure
In a saucepan sauté the thinly sliced shallot with a bay leaf and a clove of poached garlic, add the beans and sauté for a few minutes, season with salt and pepper and cover with 3/4 cup of broth and the cream, cook. Once the beans are cooked, remove 1/3 of them and keep them aside, while you blend all the rest by emulsifying with some good olive oil, strain everything through a sieve and add the beans kept aside to the resulting cream.
In the meantime open the mussels, with a drizzle of oil, a clove of poached garlic and a bay leaf, douse with wine and cover, just long enough for the mussels to open. At this point remove the mussels from the shell and set them aside covered with foil and a little broth so that they do not dry out too much, while the liquid from the opening of the mussels filter it into a pan, which you will use to “risottare” the mixed pasta. Finish the dish by laying the pasta on a generous bottom of the cream of beans add the mussels and chopped cocoa beans, at the end add a few flakes of aged Vezzena.
…Enjoy!
