Naples: The dish Scarole e fagioli

The dish Scarole e fagioli was also called Pignato magro, in contrast to another dish called Pignato grasso, the latter better known as Minestra Maritata. The adjective lean depended on the fact that it was a poor dish because it was devoid of meat; it was therefore a dish of the indigent, who came to use for its preparation a part of the escarole, the outermost one, usually intended for chickens. The base for the preparation of Scarole e fagioli is always the so called "Fondo di fagioli" (bean soup); we have explained and described its preparation in the page dedicated to pasta and beans (click here); the doses, to be foreseen for the fund of Scarole e fagioli for four people, are the same foreseen for the recipe of pasta and beans for the same number of people. Attention: the only difference between the base for pasta e fagioli and that for scarole e fagioli is the use of pork fat, which should not be used in this case. At most, we can add a couple of tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil. As far as the escarole is concerned, we recommend the purchase of the Schiano type, that is, not curly escarole. The best period is winter: the escarole in the coldest period is closed and very tender. For four people you will need about three heads; we will discard the outer part, the green, and the inner part, the white, using only the intermediate part; the weight should be around, in total, about ½ Kg. Let's drop the escarole in boiling water, after having washed it carefully; in a few minutes the water will boil and we will remove the escarole from the water, taking care to keep some of it. Put the escarole in the bottom of the beans, cooking for about twenty minutes. Gradually add a little of the water from the cooking of the escarole, previously conserved, and a little of the water from the preparation of the beans. In the dishes, in which we will serve the soup thus obtained, we will take care to prepare some bread; this can be stale, baked in the oven or, better ..., fried: the crunch, in this dish, is a winning delicacy!