Pasta and Beans

Method

1. Melt a generous amount of butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add finely diced celery, carrot, and red onion. Season with salt (which draws out water and concentrates flavour). Sauté until softened.
2. Add dried chilli pepper powder and tomato concentrate. Stir well.
3. Add about two-thirds of the cooked (or soaked and boiled) red beans (200 g out of 300 g total). Reserve the remaining beans for later.
4. Pour in enough meat broth to cover the beans. Cook gently, adding broth as needed, like a risotto, for about 20 minutes until the beans are tender.
5. Remove from heat, purée the beans with an immersion blender, then pass through a fine sieve. (Optional: dehydrate the solids left in the sieve at 80–100°C for 2–3 hours to make a pure bean powder.)
6. Return the bean cream to the pan. Add the guanciale (cut into strips) – do not render it crispy, let it stew gently in the cream. Add the aromatic herbs (majoram, rosemary, bay leaf). Stir in the reserved whole beans. Cook over medium heat, stirring with love.
7. Add the pasta (mixed short shapes) directly into the cream. Continue cooking like a risotto, adding broth as needed, until the pasta is al dente (slightly underdone, as it will finish cooking during mantecatura).
8. Remove the pot from the heat. Take out the herb sprigs. Cover and let rest for 1 minute to relax the starches.
9. Mantecatura: add generously grated scamorza cheese and freshly ground black pepper. Stir vigorously.
10. Plate with a dollop of creamy pasta and serve immediately. The cheese should stretch beautifully.