The perfect pasta and beans is not a winter dish, but a summer one. Because the best borlotti beans are fresh ones and are harvested between July and October. You can also use dry ones, soaked in water, or canned ones, but the difference is felt. After all, pasta and beans is an art, a classic of Italian cuisine and a poor dish that unites the regions, from north to south. It must be dense, substantial, so much that it can hold a spoon upright. One of the historical places that still cook it like this is the Trattoria Masuelli in Milan, managed since 1921 by the Masuelli family now in its third generation. Masuelli is a historic shop in Italy, one of the restaurants of the Union of Good Recollection Restaurants, and often keeps it on paper – strictly "with a spoon upright".
Rustica, pasta and beans, however, in its simplicity is the result of the best ingredients and a couple of tricks: for example, whisk only half of the mixture, to have a creamy soup with still whole beans, and cook the pasta separately and add it to the last, because it maintains consistency.

Ingredients for 4 people

Clean and cut the celery, carrots and onion into small pieces. Brown. Add the beans and then the tomato puree, if necessary add a ladle of vegetable stock and cover with a lid. Add the coarsely chopped potatoes and cook for at least a couple of hours.

When the beans are cooked, blend half the mixture with a blender, add the whole beans set aside again, the basil leaves to taste. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Cook the pasta separately halfway through cooking and finish it in the bean purée.

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