They lived in the highlands of Sardinia in the remote village of Perdasdefogu and shared a combined age of more than 800 years.
The hearty vegetable soup has now gained fame as one of the key factors to living a long and healthy life.
It’s incredibly nutritious, delicious and very easy to make, with many adaptations of the soup online.
The recipe notes from Blue Zones said: “A bountiful dish that is eaten every day for lunch by some of the world’s longest-lived families in Sardinia, Italy.
“It can be made with seasonable vegetables from the garden but always includes beans and fregula, a toasted pebble-size semolina pasta that is popular in Sardinia.”
Ingredients:
Half a cup of dried peeled fava beans
Half a cup of dried cranberry beans
A third of a cup of dried chickpeas
Seven tablespoons of olive oil
One onion, chopped
Two carrots, chopped
Two celery stalks, chopped
Two teaspoons of minced garlic
One can tomatoes
Three potatoes, diced
One and a half cups of chopped fennel
Quarter cup of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Chopped fresh basil
Two-thirds of a cup of fregula
Half a teaspoon of salt
Half a teaspoon of black pepper
Quarter cup grated pecorino Romano
Method:
Soak the fava beans, cranberry beans and chickpeas in a large bowl of water for at least eight hours before draining and rinsing well.
Warm three tablespoons of olive oil in a large soup pot and then add the onion, carrots and celery, stirring often and cooking for five minutes.
Add in the garlic and cook for 20 seconds before adding the tomatoes, potatoes, fennel, parsley and basil as well as the chickpeas. Add enough water so everything is submerged by one inch.
Raise the heat to high and bring to a full boil before reducing the heat to low and simmering slowly uncovered, until the beans are tender.
Add more water if necessary and cook for around one to one and a half hours. Then, stir in the pasta with the salt and pepper, adding in some more water if the soup seems dry.
Continue simmering, uncovered until the pasta is tender, which should take around 10 minutes.
Pour one tablespoon of olive oil into each of the serving bowls and then divide the soup among them, topping with a tablespoon of grated cheese.
Other fresh veggies can be added, including cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli or even courgette.
