At a time when, in Italy, we are witnessing the rediscovery of simple flavors, traditional recipes and our cucina povera (peasant cuisine) from a bygone era, even when it comes to dry and fresh pasta, alternatives to the usual soft wheat flour (once considered of lesser value) are being sought out. What piques the interest and curiosity of most are the so-called “special” flours –flour varieties made with chickpeas and legumes, in particular, so appreciated for their tasty gluten-free and nutrient-rich elements. A traditional fresh Italian pasta that works perfectly with this type of recipe would be tacconi, typical of the Marche region, and famous for being made from bean flour.
The origins, history and characteristics of tacconi
Directly from the enchanting hills of the countryside in the Marche region comes the special ingredient at the core of this regional recipe: bean flour – more specifically, bean flour made from the most famous and prized beans of the Marche region called ‘favette,’ a type of bean native to Fratte Rosa, a small hillside village in the province of Pesaro and Urbino.
The type of flour made from favette beans is not very easy to find on the market, but it can be made at home if you purchase fresh fava beans harvested in May-June. Just dry them, remove their skins, and grinding them in a food processor until you have a powder.
Fava beans are rich in protein fiber, vitamins, and mineral salts (iron and phosphorus in particular). Low-carb and low-fat, bean flour gives this fresh pasta recipe from the Marche region a brownish color with flavor and a pleasantly rough texture.
Tacconi is a pasta dish of peasant origin: In fact, farmers once used tacconi as a way to ensure sustenance for the whole family despite a shortage of wheat at the time. So they mixed wheat flour with cheaper “alternative flours” – including fava beans.
Preparation and traditional local recipes
To make tacconi, first mix 7 oz dried fava bean flour with 7 oz wheat flour and four eggs. The size of the tacconi and the steps to make them are actually quite similar to making tagliatelle and tagliolini: Once ready, you’ll pull the dough with a rolling pin until about 7.85 inches (about 20 centimeters) long and less than 2 inches ( ½ centimeter) thick. Then roll the dough sections up and cut them into strips about 0.4 inch (one centimeter) wide. The result should be a compact pasta with a particularly sweet and slightly savory flavor that can be combined with a light sauce.
For the original peasant version of the recipe, the tacconi were eaten with a white sauce made with a drizzle of oil and a little grated Parmigiano cheese, while more recently, the sauce can range from a classic fresh tomato sauce to other more refined and complex sauces featuring fish, meat, mushrooms, and other vegetables.
Given the simplicity of the recipe, once the bean flour has been found (or prepared), anyone can experiment with a homemade and personalized version of tacconi – perhaps trying to replace the white flour with whole-wheat flour or going for more fresh, seasonal ingredients.
Per info: Fratterosa / Photo: Fava_di_Fratte_Rosa_Farina_Tacconi_Wikipedia.jpg