Milan chef adds coconut, spring onion and chilli to pasta e fagioli

Cesare Battisti, head chef and owner of Ratanà in Milan, proposes a version of pasta e fagioli that keeps the dish’s traditional pattern but introduces Thai‑inspired elements: coconut cream, spring onion, chilli and an optional squeeze of lemon in a recipe published by Rachel Roddy.

Roddy places the dish within the wide regional variation of pasta e fagioli, noting the familiar technique of boiling beans in water with fat and aromatics before adding pasta. Battisti follows that pattern—soaked beans added to a soffritto, then water and pasta—but adds coconut cream and spring onion to change the flavour and texture.

The recipe uses dried borlotti beans soaked overnight, olive oil, diced spring onion whites with sliced greens, celery, carrot, red chilli, rosemary, 2–3 tablespoons coconut cream, roughly broken tagliatelle and the juice of one lemon as optional. Method details include simmering the soaked beans in about 1.5 litres of water until soft, puréeing half the soup and returning it with the coconut cream, then simmering and adding the broken pasta until cooked; bowls are finished with sliced spring onion greens and extra chopped chilli, with lemon encouraged for those who want it.

Roddy wrote that the coconut cream softens the colour to taupe and makes the dish feel luxurious while remaining fresh, and she agreed with Battisti that it should be hot with chilli. She also highlighted the lemon as an "ingrediente inaspettato" that acts like a bright spark.

Key Topics

Culture, Cesare Battisti, Ratanà, Milan, Pasta E Fagioli, Coconut Cream