Description
The badda bean is a native Sicilian round bean. Slow food presidium, protected because of its organoleptic properties . An excellent ingredient for soups and traditional pasta, it should also be tried when interpreting dishes from foreign cuisines.
A two-colored bean has been grown in Polizzi Generosa for two centuries: medium small and round, affectionately called "badda," meaning ball, in dialect. It is a mottled bean, almost unknown outside the Madonie, which from time to time, can be ivory with pinkish and orange spots, or ivory with dark purple, almost black spots. 
Polizzani also call it fasolo badda bianca or badda niura or munachedda. Badda beans are grown in small family gardens, and local farmers have always reproduced the seed themselves. In the higher areas, mostly within the Madonie Natural Park, sowing begins the first week of June: traditionally the day of St. Anthony of Padua. At the marina, on the other hand, that is, at lower elevations, planting is done later, beyond mid-July, when the summer heat begins to fade. The plants climb around four canes arranged in the shape of a small shed: u'pagliaru.This is a savory bean, with herbaceous and even brackish notes, slightly astringent, with hints of chestnut and almond in the finish.
 
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It is recommended not to salt the cooking water, but to add salt at the end to avoid hardening of the cuticle, as well as to soak them for at least 12 to 15 hours, with a cooking time of about 2 hours on low heat.
 
Legumes in Sicily tell a very ancient story made of men and work as well as meals traditionally referred to as "poor" but actually very rich in nutrients and vegetable proteins. These crops have always been used in the rotation patterns adopted by farmers. On the trail of Sicily's legumes is an itinerary that from the province of Ragusa crosses the whole island, reaching the territories of Trapani and passing through Ustica. In the town of Villalba in rotation with durum wheat, they are the centerpiece of the local economy; today the Villalba lentil is a Slow Food Presidium. For two centuries in the family gardens of Polizzi Generosa, between 700 and 900 meters above sea level, within the Madonie Park, a two-colored bean of small to medium size and round shape has been grown, hence its dialect name "badda," meaning ball.
 
It is a mottled bean, with a sharp division between two distinct colorations that, from time to time, are ivory with pinkish, orange, or dark purple, almost black spots. These, along with many other local varieties, constitute a true natural heritage bearer of just as much intangible heritage that tells us of recipes, work in the fields and hearths always ready to offer hot soup.