Fava Cottora dell'Amerino

The Amerino, the country around Terni, Amelia and Orvieto, has always held that its favas cook and digest more easily than others, and the ecotype the growers selected is named for it, cottòra, from cotto, cooked. The soil is clay rather than chalk, which is why the beans can be cooked without peeling. They are best plainly dressed with olive oil, salt, pepper and raw onion.