‘Beard Splasher’ Soup

A Murderous Tale of Cranberry Beans and Pasta

I always say that I don’t believe I’m a chef. I try to be a storyteller.

— José Andrés, chef, restaurateur, and founder of World Central Kitchen

I have always been attracted to whimsical recipe names and the stories that lay camouflaged within their ingredients. I’m talking about dishes like pets de nonne (literally nun’s farts), priest chokers (Strozzapreti), and the imam fainted (Imam bayildi). A dish is the intersection of provenance, history, and food.

To me, recipes are edible stories that capture the junctures of cultural development. They chronicle the moments of prosperity, poverty, invasion, conquer, exploration, and trade. A good story should not only educate and entertain but also connect us to our past. For diners, it can elevate a meal; possibly transforming it into a transcendental experience. For cooks, it can add reverence to an ingredient or a particular dish. For a server, it acts as a storytelling bridge to help engage customers and take them on a voyage of discovery.

Lucrezia Borgia by Bartolomeo Veneto — The Yorck Project (2002) 10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei (DVD-ROM), distributed by DIRECTMEDIA Publishing GmbH. ISBN: 3936122202., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=147748

Sguazabarbuz

Sguazabarbuz, or beard splasher, is an Italian pasta and bean soup from Ferrara created to commemorate Lucrezia Borgia, or at least her hair. I first read about it in Colman Andrews’ cookbook The…