I PISSAREI E FASO (bread gnocchi with sausage and beans)

After making a well in the flour, pour in the water and the breadcrumbs, which you have previously blanched in boiling water or milk. Knead everything until you obtain a soft and elastic dough. With a piece of the dough obtained form a “snake” of the thickness of about half a centimeter, from which you will get the “pisarei” separating the individual pieces of equal size.
To give each of them the traditional shape proceed in this way: place the piece of dough on the cutting board and, with a tap given with the edge of the thumb, crush it to give the characteristic shape of a shell. At the same time fry together the butter, a chopped spring onion, parsley and, if you wish, a clove of garlic and some crushed lard (pistà ad gras). Add a fair quantity of boiled beans (borlotti or white beans) and brown them over low heat, after sprinkling them with pepper and salt; add the tomato sauce in the right quantity, diluted with warm water or broth; then continue cooking over low heat, adding water if necessary. At the end of cooking, when the sauce will appear velvety, proceed to cook the “pisarei” in plenty of salted water until they come to the surface and dress them with the sauce and grated cheese.