The name of this dish, which translates to ‘Lombard soup’, is a little misleading. It’s neither from Lombardy, nor really a ‘soup’ – though technically it is still a zuppa. Supposedly, it was the dish fed to the workers who were brought into the Maremma from northern Italy to dredge and fill the malaria-ridden wetlands towards the end of the 1700s. In fact, this recipe should really be called zuppa per i lombardi (‘soup for the Lombards’).
This typical Maremman peasant dish is made of locally grown cannellini beans cooked slowly in water with onion, garlic and herbs. Once cooked, the beans, along with some of their delicious liquid, are scooped over a slice of grilled or perhaps stale Tuscan bread. Like the most efficient sponge, Tuscan bread soaks up everything. It is one of my favourite dishes.
Good beans are essential for this recipe, and I would recommend using dried cannellini beans – the liquid produced from cooking the dried beans from scratch is what makes this so special. Another important tip is not to add any salt to the cooking beans until right at the end – the salt keeps the beans stubbornly tough and you will need to cook them for much longer.