Recipe
🍽️ DINNER
Fagioli con le Cotiche
A hearty Sammarinese Christmas soup of borlotti beans stewed with pork rind in a garlicky tomato sauce.
Sammarinese · medium · serves 6
prep 30 min · cook 180 min
~325 cal · 26g protein · 35g carbs · 9g fat · 9g fiber · 5g sugars · 3g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Fagioli con le cotiche, beans with pork rind, is one of San Marino's robust cold-weather dishes, a Christmas classic in the Republic and across the neighbouring Romagna and Marche countryside. Borlotti beans are stewed with strips of pork rind (cotiche) in a garlicky tomato sauce until everything turns rich and creamy.
The pork rind is the humble secret: cheap and gelatinous, it melts into the broth and flavours the whole pot, a classic example of peasant frugality producing something deeply satisfying. Like most long-simmered bean dishes, it is even better reheated the next day.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally gluten-, dairy-, egg- and nut-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 6
1 1/2 cups dried borlotti beans, soaked overnight
12 oz pork rind (cotiche)
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 fresh chili
2 cups crushed tomatoes
3 tbsp olive oil
to taste salt and pepper
Instructions
1
Simmer the soaked beans in fresh water with a little of the onion, carrot and celery until tender, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Reserve the cooking liquid.
2
Scrape and trim the pork rind, cut into small squares, and boil 20 minutes, then simmer gently in fresh water until tender but still with a little bite.
✎ Chef’s note
Pre-boiling the rind removes any bristles and firms it so it holds its shape in the stew.
3
Make a soffritto: soften the remaining onion, carrot, celery, garlic and chili in the olive oil, then add the crushed tomatoes and simmer to a sauce, about 20 minutes.
4
Add the drained pork rind and let it take on flavour, then stir in the cooked beans with a little of their liquid.
5
Simmer everything together about 30 minutes until creamy, season, and serve hot with bread. It is even better the next day.
San Marino / Romagna tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
City of San Marino. The City of San Marino sits on a clifftop and bakes nidi di rondine, pasta rolled with ham and cheese into swallow's nests and baked in sauce. Its cooking is Romagnol: piadina flatbread, cured meats, and the layered torta tre monti.
🗺️
San Marino. San Marino calls itself the world's oldest republic, dating itself to 301 AD, though that date was only fixed by decree in 1941 and historians put its actual institutions in the 13th century. The tiny mountain republic within Italy cooks Emilia-Romagna-style, filled pasta, roasts, and the layered dessert torta tre monti. Piadina flatbread and Italian tradition define its table.
🌍
Europe. A surprising amount of European cooking is under five hundred years old. Tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, maize, beans and chocolate all crossed from the Americas after 1492, and none of them was trusted quickly: the potato took most of the eighteenth century to be accepted as food rather than animal fodder across much of the north.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from San Marino
Nido di RondineSan Marino's "swallow's nest": pasta rolls filled with ham and cheese, sliced, and baked in tomato and béchamel.
PiadinaA thin griddled flatbread folded around soft cheese with ham, or with jam, the daily bread of the region.
Cappelletti in BrodoLittle hat-shaped filled pasta floating in a clear, rich broth, the festive first course of San Marino.
Browse all San Marino recipes →
Good to know
Storing it: Stews and braises keep 3 to 4 days refrigerated and often taste better the next day. Reheat gently, adding a splash of water if it has thickened.
Make it a San Marino meal
BustrengoDessert
Cappelletti in BrodoLunch
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Frequently asked questions
What is Fagioli con le Cotiche?
A hearty Sammarinese Christmas soup of borlotti beans stewed with pork rind in a garlicky tomato sauce.
Where does Fagioli con le Cotiche come from?
Fagioli con le Cotiche is a Sammarinese dish from City of San Marino, San Marino.
Can Fagioli con le Cotiche be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Fagioli con le Cotiche recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Fagioli con le Cotiche safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Fagioli con le Cotiche take to make?
About 210 minutes total (30 minutes prep, 180 minutes cooking), serving 6.
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