Sarge: yes of course in half Italy the typical everyday's dish until the past generation was pasta e fagioli (Another cheap dishes that's now living an era of glory in chic restaurants).
Bill: Bottarga may be expensive nowadays, but it wasn't for the past generations: same as above, a new era of glory for a poor dish et cetera et cetera.
Before you tell us this bass recipe (and please, do), let me keep up beans for a while.
And about the basic cheap foods of Tuscany- I don't think I've ever had so many great bean soups and other bean dishes.
I'm sure they offered you the Fagioli all'Uccelletto, a tuscan classic! An english translation of this recipe's name might be: "Watch-The-Birdie Beans". In facts Uccelletto means little bird, but there are no birds at all in the recipe.
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Instead of writing the recipe in english (it's late night here and my bed is calling my name) please let me Copy-Paste this one from internet. It's quite correct:
FAGIOLI ALL'UCCELLETTO, beans with a light tomato sauce, are one of the most classic Tuscan dishes, and are a common accompaniment to braised dishes or stews (
or served cool as a summer salad, Spaghetti says). Served with Italian link sausages they also make a perfect winter main course. In short, they're comfort food.
INGREDIENTS:
1 pound (500 g) dried canellini (white beans), soaked for 3 hours.
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
7-8 leaves of sage
1-2 peeled fresh plum tomatoes or a small can of tomatoes
Boiling water
Salt and pepper to taste
8 Italian link sausages (optional; see below)
PREPARATION:
Begin by boiling the beans until 3/4 done in lightly salted water. This will take about an hour, though you should begin checking them after a half hour. You don't want them to go soft on you. If you are including sausages, prick their skins lightly with a fork and simmer them in boiling water to cover for 15 minutes to render out some of the fat. Once the beans are 3/4 done, set the olive oil to heat over a medium flame, in a heavy bottomed clay pot or dutch oven. When the oil's hot, add the garlic and the sage (not more than seven or eight leaves; too much sage will make the beans bitter). Cook until the sage crackles and the garlic is lightly browned. Add the tomatoes and cook for a few more minutes, then add the beans and bean broth to cover. Season the beans with salt and pepper, add the sausages, and simmer everything until the beans are quite soft, stirring occasionally and adding bean broth as necessary to keep things from drying out.
