Pisarei e fasö
Piacenza's tiny bread-and-flour gnocchetti, each curled with a thumb, cooked in a thick sauce of borlotti beans, tomato and pancetta.
Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen.
- Prep
- 1 hr
- Cook
- 50 min
- Rest
- 30 min
- Total
- 2 hr 20 min
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Spice
- No chilli
- Cost
- Cheap nightUnder $8 USD · indicative, not a store price
About
Pisarei e fasö is Piacenza's signature first course: tiny gnocchetti of flour and breadcrumbs in a sauce of borlotti beans and tomato. The breadcrumbs are scalded with boiling milk, then worked into flour and water to make a firm dough. Rolled into thin ropes and cut into chickpea-sized pieces, each one is pressed and dragged with the thumb so it curls into a little shell that holds the sauce. The sauce starts with pancetta or lardo pounded to a paste and cooked gently with butter and onion, then tomato, then beans, and simmers until some of the beans break and thicken it. Cook the pisarei until they float and a minute more, then stir them into the beans and let them sit for a minute. Done is a thick, rust-coloured plate of chewy little dumplings and creamy beans, finished with grated Grana.
What you'll need
13 ingredients. Tap each one once it's out on the bench.
Ingredients
- Wheat flour, plain, plus more for dusting300 g
- Breadcrumbs, fine, dry and unseasoned100 g
- Milk, boiling150 ml
- Water, lukewarm, as needed100 ml
- Borlotti beans, cooked (250 g dried, soaked overnight and simmered until tender), plus a cup of their liquid600 g
- Pancetta, or lardo, chopped to a paste60 g
- Butter20 g
- Olive oil30 ml
- Onion, finely chopped1 medium
- Passata400 g
- Parmigiano Reggiano, Grana Padano, grated60 g
- Black pepper2½ ml
- Salt, for the water and sauce15 ml
Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.
Steps
Step 1
Pour the boiling milk over the breadcrumbs and leave 10 minutes. Add the flour and a pinch of salt and work in enough water to make a firm, smooth dough. Knead 10 minutes, cover and rest 30 minutes.
22 min
Step 2
Cook the pancetta, butter, oil and onion gently for 10 minutes until soft. Add the passata and simmer 10 minutes, then the beans and a little of their liquid. Simmer 20 minutes, crushing a few beans against the pan to thicken it.
40 min
Step 3
Roll pieces of dough into ropes as thick as a pencil and cut them into 1 cm lengths. Press each piece with your thumb and drag it towards you across the board so it curls. Dust with flour as you go.
40 min
Step 4
Boil the pisarei in salted water until they float, then 2 minutes more. Lift them into the beans, stir, rest 2 minutes and serve with Grana and pepper.
8 min
Nutrition
Per serving · estimate
- Calories
- 898 kcal
- Protein
- 35.9 g
- Carbs
- 126.9 g
- Fat
- 27.3 g
- Saturated fat
- 10.5 g
- Fibre
- 16.9 g
- Sugar
- 7 g
- Sodium
- 2067 mg
Calculated from canonical ingredient data (USDA FoodData Central averages and equivalent published tables). Estimates only.
Allergens
Informational only. Not a medical guarantee. Cross-contamination happens in real kitchens.
- Wheat
- Milk
- Nut-free
Adapt this recipe
The original recipe stays as it is. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are simple maths.
Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 10 November.
Substitutions
Lardo or pancetta → Butter and olive oil only
For a meat-free version; add a little more onion.
Tips
- A wooden board grips the dough and makes the thumb-curl easier than a smooth worktop.
- Tinned borlotti work if you are short of time: rinse them and use stock in place of their liquid.
History & culture
In Piacenza pisarei e fasö are the dish of family Sundays and village festivals, and the city's trattorie list them first. Shaping them is shared work for a whole family, and grandmothers still do it fastest. It is solid, cheap food from the plain where Emilia meets Lombardy, eaten in every season.
The dish is old peasant cooking made from the staples of the Po plain: stale bread, flour and dried beans. The name is Piacentino dialect. 'Fasö' are beans, and 'pisarei' is usually said to describe the dumplings' small, pea-like size. It has been the dish of Piacenza for generations, and the city's restaurants still treat it as their own.
Traditional — Flour and breadcrumb pisarei with borlotti beans, tomato, onion and pancetta or lardo, finished with Grana.
Provenance: Editorial adaptation.
Questions about this recipe
Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips.
How long does Pisarei e fasö take?
2 hr 20 min all in — 1 hr prep, 50 min cook, 30 min rest. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.
How many does it serve?
The recipe is written for 4 plates. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.
How hard is it?
Medium.
How spicy is it?
No chilli.
What allergens should I watch?
This recipe is labelled for Wheat, Milk. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.
Does it fit a diet?
The published recipe is labelled Nut-free.
6 more questionsFewer questions
What does it cost to cook?
Cheap night — about Under $8 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.
What equipment do I need?
Mixing bowl, Saucepan, Dutch oven.
How much salt do I put in?
The recipe lists Salt at 1 tbsp (for the water and sauce).
What can I use instead?
Lardo or pancetta → Butter and olive oil only. For a meat-free version; add a little more onion.
Any tips from this recipe?
A wooden board grips the dough and makes the thumb-curl easier than a smooth worktop. Tinned borlotti work if you are short of time: rinse them and use stock in place of their liquid.
Can I use an air fryer?
This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.
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