This "Presidio", specific of the Trasimeno Lake area, is a protagonist of memory and popular tradition. These are special and extremely tasty legumes, but they need great and continuous care to grow sane.

We are talking about a bean that has been living for the Etruscan eve and for ages it has been grown on the shores of this Umbrian lake, vey close both to Perugia and to the borders of Tuscany.

The bean is very small, a little larger than a rice grain and up to the 60’s of the last century it was sown and harvested in the communes that surround the lake, especially in Castiglione del Lago, Passignano and Tuoro.

The result of all these efforts is a white and very small bean.
It is a limited production; the structure of the farms is nromally the one of a family business and workers are not more than 3 per farm, producing pu to 7-8 quintals per year of "Fagiolina" ("small bean"). You can realize how much is all that loss of time and energy worth only by tasting the "Fagiolina".

Whoever has got the chance to hold 1 kilogram of it in his hands won’t have to let it soak for hours before cooking it.

You just need to start cooking it in cold water for 3 hours on a faible flame and the result will be a soft bean, very tasty, with a compact dough.

The Fagiolina is very good also "sautée" on the flame with some fresh tomato and two leaves of basil, on the contrary it is not suggested its use for bean soups as for a purea: it looses many of its organoleptic values.

This nice boiled bean is suggested to be matched with a young and roundish red wine, like a red D.O.C. "Colli del Trasimeno".

If you want to get in thoroughly, the suggestion is to find out those wines having species of vine like Gamay in the mix; even a young wine and recently certified D.O.C. of the neighbouring Cortona area could be perfect.

Referring to an old proverb mentioning "Fagiolina" and trying to explain the "feminine" genre of these legumes, there has been someone who interviewed several farmers, who agreed in stating: "…only women can be rude like the Fagiolina!".

Thus, I beg the pardon of the whole femine genre both personally and on behalf of the editorial staff of "Ciboviaggiando"...

The "Presidio" is working to promote this product, allowing it to exit from the local trade and encouraging the growing of both the pulses and the farms that for ages have been producing it.

The Slow-Food "Trasimeno" management, working with the "Comunità Montana Monti del Trasimeno", the local governments, the producers, the category associations, the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Perugia and other associations, is drawing up a Production Disciplinary: in the meantime, an Association of Producers with its own brand was born a short time ago.

To experiment a wholly lake flavour specific of the Trasimeno Lake you are suggested to taste this small bean with some olive oil from the experimental olive plantation of Polvese Island (one of the three islands of the Lake).

The production area includes all the Communes around the Trasimeno Lake, Città della Pieve, Corciano, Magione, Paciano, Panicale, Passignano sul Trasimeno, Piegaro, Tuoro sul Trasimeno.

Mrs. Sonia Chellini and Mr. Sergio Batino are the executive managers of this "Presidio", supported by the "Comunità Montana Monti del Trasimeno". We would like to thank Mrs. Simona Fabbrizzi and Mr. Eros Testi for their collaboration.

Fagiolina from Trasimeno lake

Ingredients: ½ Kilo of Fagiolina; 1 clove of Garlic Salt; Pepper; Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Boil the Fagiolina in a lot of still cold water. Let it boil for about 20 minutes, strain and boil again in some more hot salted water for 20/30 minutes. Dress with some oil, salt as enough, pepper and a clove of garlic (as you wish). Differently from other kind of legumes the Fagiolina has not to be left softening in any water before cooking, that is thanks to its thin skin and compact pulp