Ten refined portions. The beans are split, 60 percent blended to an ultra-smooth purée and 40 percent kept whole, and the broth is built separately and poured at the pass.
Written for 10 refined portions
This dish fails if it is too thick. Keep it fluid and elegant, somewhere between a soup and a sauce. Acid is the control lever, and it always finishes with fresh olive oil.
Ingredients
The bean base
- Dried cannellini beans, soaked overnight400 g
- Onion, brunoise1 each
- Carrot, fine brunoise1 each
- Celery, stalk, fine brunoise1 each
- Garlic, cloves, slowly confit or crushed4 each
- Bay leaves2 each
- Good olive oil
- Smoked paprika
- Parmigiano rindessential depth
The broth, a separate layer
- Light chicken or vegetable stock1.5 L
- White grape vinegar
- Parmesan rind
- Kombuoptional, a powerful umami boost
The pasta
- Ditalini or broken tagliolini, cooked separately in salted water120 g
To finish
- Good olive oil
- Rosemary or thyme oil
- Crispy pancetta or smoked mushroom crumble
- Lemon zest
- Black pepper
- Aged Parmigianomicroplaned
Method
The beans
Sweat the soffritto slowly in olive oil with no colour, for 10 to 15 minutes.
Add the garlic and smoked paprika and bloom them gently.
Add the soaked beans, the bay and the Parmigiano rind, cover with water, and cook low and slow for 1.5 to 2 hours. The beans must be silky, not merely tender.
Remove 60 percent of the beans and blend them into an ultra-smooth purée, then pass it through a fine sieve. This is the luxury texture.
Keep the remaining 40 percent whole, for texture.
The broth
In a separate pot, bring the stock, parmesan rind and kombu to a gentle simmer.
Add a touch of white grape vinegar.
Strain it. You want a clean, glossy broth.
Emulsify and assemble
Combine the bean purée with a little of the broth.
Whisk in olive oil to a silky, almost buttery consistency. It should sit between a soup and a sauce.
Cook the pasta separately to al dente and toss it lightly in olive oil.
Chef’s notes
- The flavour profile to aim at: deep, slow warmth, gentle smoke from the paprika, a bright lift from the vinegar and lemon, creaminess without cream, and a clean finish with no heaviness.
- Three variation directions exist in the source and none is part of the recipe as it stands. One adds a charred leek purée swirl and a burnt citrus gel. One adds seared langoustine or prawn with the broth infused with the shells. One folds garlic confit into the purée and finishes with crispy garlic chips.
The finish
- Spoon a pool of the bean velouté into a shallow bowl.
- Place the pasta neatly in the centre.
- Add a few whole beans, sparingly.
- At the pass, pour the hot broth tableside, or gently around.
- Finish with a crisp pancetta shard or smoked mushroom crumble, rosemary oil, lemon zest, a microplane of Parmigiano and a crack of black pepper.
Keeping
DUKAI storage guidance
Bean purée and broth keep separately. Cool it quickly rather than leaving it on the pass: to below 21°C within about two hours, and to 5°C or below within a further four. Both at 5°C or below, used within 3 to 4 days. Cook the pasta to order: it will not survive being held.
Allergens and diet
Gluten, from the pasta. Milk, from the Parmigiano. Sulphites, from the vinegar. Celery.
Last refined · September 2026