Talking about the Gialet Bean “il gialèt” is like delving into the historical memory of the Belluno Valley. Its cultivation has been documented since the beginning of the twentieth century. Always considered a prized bean, it was grown not so much for the consumption of peasant families as to be sold to the “master” or to the wealthier classes: once upon a time, merchants from Padua, Verona and Bologna would buy it up to sell it in particular to the Vatican. Precisely because it was a bean “for the lords” no particular peasant recipes have been handed down: since the flavour is very delicate, it is excellent in soups or boiled with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a little onion. Its rounded seeds have an intense yellow colour with greenish notes. Always appreciated for its tender consistency and for having an almost inconsistent skin after cooking, with soaking and cooking it triples in size since it has a very high imbibition capacity and is highly digestible, but losing much of its colour.
Chef Riccardo Bosco of the Boivin restaurant in Levico Terme, a Michelin-starred Bib Gourmand restaurant, uses an original mix of Trentino tradition and ingredients with inserts from around the world, such as Korean kimchi or the oriental tataki cooking technique, which gives rise to the restaurant's signature dish, trout with celeriac puree. For this recipe for ravioli with gialèt beans, he has adhered to the strictest fidelity to the gastronomic traditions of the Belluno Valley, a vast area between the Belluno Prealps on one side and the southern Dolomites on the other, which offers a varied gastronomic panorama in addition to the Gialet Bean, such as the Lamon Bean from the Belluno Valley, Sponcio Corn, Nevegal Cheese, Zumelle Cheese, Kodinzon, a puree of cooked, then dried apples.
Respecting the “exclusive” tradition of Gialèt, the chef avoids any kind of contamination, and harks back to the past. “The dish,” explains Bosco, fresh from his nomination as Innkeeper of the Year 2025 by the Slow Food Guide to Italian Osterias, “was born from the need to reuse bean soup. Considering the delicacy of gialèt, I use a drizzle of EVO oil from Garda Trentino flavored with rosemary, a few drops of balsamic vinegar and a pinch of Parmigiano as a condiment.” That’s all, but the flavor is truly unique. As is the atmosphere that you breathe in this beautiful place once used for wine fermentation. In this regard, it is worth mentioning the motivation for the award: “Boivin’s rhythm is marked by kindness, by the delicate and reassuring guidance of an innkeeper who welcomes with discretion, who becomes the narrator of the table and the territory with an authoritative voice but never the protagonist, and invites you to a slowness that is nevertheless lively, cheerful and widespread throughout the room.”
The recipe for Ravioli with yellow bean from Val Belluna on the grill with cooked must
Ingredients for four people
250 00 grams of flour
150 ml of warm water
A pinch of salt
350 g of yellow beans from Val Belluna, Slow Food Presidium
Parsley
Sale
Extra virgin olive oil
Seed oil
4 tablespoons vegetable margarine
Cooked must
Method
The night before, soak the beans for at least 12 hours. In a bowl, combine the flour, water and a pinch of salt. Mix the ingredients well with a fork. Knead with your hands on the work surface until you get a smooth and homogeneous dough. Let the dough rest in a bowl with the lid for 30 minutes. In the meantime, prepare the filling by boiling the beans in cold unsalted water for about 40 minutes, then drain them and blend them with a little cooking water, keeping a few whole for the final garnish.
Once the operation is completed, mix the mixture with the margarine, oil and a pinch of pepper. At this point, roll out the dough on the floured surface using a rolling pin. Form discs with a pastry cutter and remove the excess dough. Place a teaspoon of filling in the center of each disc of dough. Close the disc in half and make three folds on each side by pinching the dough. Alternatively, make a herringbone closure or whatever you prefer. Once all the ravioli are closed, pour a drizzle of seed oil into a pan and arrange the ravioli in a single layer. When a golden crust forms on the base, add a glass of water and cover with the lid.
Leave on the heat until the water evaporates and the ravioli are completely cooked. Serve the ravioli seasoned with cooked must and whole beans.
Boivin Restaurant
+39 0461 701670
Via Garibaldi, 9 –
Levico Terme (TN)
