APULICA / FRUIT, VEGETABLES AND PULSES
Tavo round bean
Slow Food Presidium · PAT · Fruit, vegetables and pulses · Abruzzo
In brief
- A small bean, round like a pea and pearly white, grown along the Tavo river in Penne, Loreto Aprutino, Collecorvino and Cappelle sul Tavo. (Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Fagiolo tondino del Tavo)
- It is a late variety, sown in mid-June and picked by hand in several passes from the second half of October. (Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Fagiolo tondino del Tavo)
- It has a very thin skin and cooks quickly; it is often paired with pumpkin. (Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Fagiolo tondino del Tavo)
- It is on Abruzzo's list of traditional products, also as the Loreto Aprutino bean. (Masaf — Elenco nazionale dei prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali, XXVI revisione (2026))
History and origin
The Tavo is an Abruzzo river that rises on the Gran Sasso and flows down to the hills of the Pescara area through green valleys. The bean takes its name from the river and from its round shape: it is a hardy variety, suited to the alluvial, sandy and pebbly soils of the valley.
For a time it was at risk of disappearing, because farmers had replaced it with the borlotto, cheaper and quicker to grow. Its recovery is owed to an Abruzzo restaurateur, Domenico Speranza, who came across it in the 1950s and began looking for the seed. After a long search he found it with a few families in the valley, and cultivation started again from there.
Today the Slow Food Presidium supports the recovery and brings in new producers. The bean is also on the list of traditional food products of Abruzzo, including under the name Loreto Aprutino bean.
Sources: Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Fagiolo tondino del Tavo · Masaf — Elenco nazionale dei prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali, XXVI revisione (2026)
Area and method of production
The production area covers the municipalities of Penne, Loreto Aprutino, Collecorvino and Cappelle sul Tavo, in the province of Pescara. The climate is distinctive: the Majella and Gran Sasso massifs shelter the valley from westerly winds, but from the south-west blows the garbino, a hot wind that can be very strong, while cold currents arrive from the north-east.
It is a late bean. It is sown in mid-June, traditionally in small clusters of seeds; it is watered when rain is scarce, above all while the pods are filling, and weeds are kept down by working the soil before sowing.
Harvesting is by hand in several passes and starts in the second half of October. The dry pods are chosen on the plant and left in the sun to lose their remaining moisture; shelling, once done only by hand, can now also be mechanical. The protocol bans chemical weedkillers and requires well-rotted manure and crop rotation.
Sources: Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Fagiolo tondino del Tavo
How to recognise it
It is small and round like a pea, a mother-of-pearl white ranging from milk to ivory. The skin is very thin, so it cooks quickly and is easy to digest.
After harvest the dried beans are stored in jute sacks, away from light and heat, and they are available all year round.
It is a hardy variety that copes well with a climate of hot south-westerly and cold north-easterly winds. This ability to adapt to the Tavo valley is one of the reasons why families kept on growing it.
It is picked by hand in several passes, and the dry pods finish drying in the sun before shelling.
Sources: Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Fagiolo tondino del Tavo
In the kitchen
Before cooking it should be soaked overnight in cold water. It can then be boiled and dressed with extra virgin olive oil, used in salads or added to soups.
A common pairing is with pumpkin, which is harvested at the same time of year. The tondino is also a good sauce for Abruzzo's handmade pasta, such as sagne and tacconelle.
The thin skin and quick cooking make it well suited to simple dishes in which the flavour of the legume stays at the centre.
The soaking should not be skipped; after that, the thin skin does the rest and cooking is quick.
Sources: Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Fagiolo tondino del Tavo
Where to taste it
The bean is grown along the Tavo valley, between Penne, Loreto Aprutino, Collecorvino and Cappelle sul Tavo, in the hills of the province of Pescara that rise towards the Gran Sasso.
Harvest time is autumn, from the second half of October; dried, however, the tondino is available all year.
The valley is hilly hinterland not far from the Adriatic coast: a route through these villages combines the farming landscape of the Tavo with views of the Majella and Gran Sasso massifs.
The recovery began with a few families in the valley who still kept the seed, and today the Presidium involves more and more growers in the four municipalities.
Sources: Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Fagiolo tondino del Tavo
Protection
- Slow Food Presidium — fagiolo-tondino-del-tavo (Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Fagiolo tondino del Tavo)
- Traditional agri-food product (PAT) — Abruzzo, n. 77, 26th revision (Masaf — Elenco nazionale dei prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali, XXVI revisione (2026))
When
- Harvest: October (Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Fagiolo tondino del Tavo)
- Autumn