🇮🇹 Italian · Pasta
🍲 Sagne e Fagioli
Sagne e Fagioli
A hearty peasant dish from Basilicata pairing hand-torn wide noodles with slow-cooked borlotti beans, tomato, and a soffritto base, warming and thick enough to eat with a fork.
Sagne are simple, rustic strips of pasta torn or cut by hand, embodying the resourceful cooking of the Basilicata and Calabria regions, where this dish traditionally stretched a small amount of flour into a filling meal for a large family using beans as the primary source of protein.
Ingredients
Equipment: Mixing bowl, Rolling pin, Large pot, Knife
- 350 g (2⅔ cups) durum wheat flour
- 160 ml (⅔ cup) warm water
- Pinch of salt
- 400 g (2 cups) dried borlotti beans, soaked overnight
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 carrot, finely chopped
- 1 celery stalk, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 400 g (14 oz) canned crushed tomatoes
- 1 bay leaf
- 80 ml (⅓ cup) extra virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
- Chili flakes, to taste
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Method
- Drain the soaked beans and simmer in fresh water with the bay leaf until tender, about 1 hour; drain, reserving some cooking liquid.
- Meanwhile, make the dough by combining flour, water, and salt into a firm, smooth dough. Rest, covered, for 20 minutes.
- Roll the dough out thin and cut or tear it by hand into irregular wide strips, roughly 2cm across.
- In a large pot, warm the olive oil and sauté the onion, carrot, and celery until softened, then add the garlic and chili flakes and cook briefly.
- Add the crushed tomatoes and cooked beans along with a ladle of the bean cooking liquid, and simmer for 20 minutes to let the flavors meld.
- Bring a separate pot of salted water to a boil and cook the sagne for 3–4 minutes until tender.
- Drain the pasta and stir it directly into the bean sauce, adding more bean liquid if needed to loosen.
- Simmer everything together for a couple more minutes, season to taste, and serve with a drizzle of olive oil.
Chef Tips
- Tearing the pasta by hand rather than cutting it evenly is traditional and gives the dish its characteristic rustic look.
- Save plenty of bean cooking liquid — it thickens and flavors the final dish far better than plain water.
- This dish should be thick and stew-like, closer to a hearty soup than a saucy pasta.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Using canned beans without developing their own flavorful cooking liquid, which leaves the dish tasting flat.
- Rolling the pasta too uniformly — the rustic, torn texture is part of the dish's character.
- Undercooking the beans, which should be fully soft and starting to break down into the sauce.
Nutrition (per serving)
Health Benefits
- Borlotti beans provide plant-based protein and fiber.
- A naturally vegan, dairy-free dish rich in complex carbohydrates.
Cultural Note
Sagne e fagioli is a classic of cucina povera from Basilicata and neighboring Calabria, historically eaten during Lent and other meat-free periods when beans provided essential protein.
Storage & Serving
Storage: Refrigerate up to 3 days; the dish thickens further and is excellent the next day.
Reheating: Reheat gently on the stovetop, adding a little water or stock to loosen as needed.
Serve with: Crusty bread, A drizzle of good olive oil at the table