Harvest to Table

A practical guide to food in the garden and market

Borlotti Beans

Filed under: Legumes, Tagged as: beans, delicious bite, delicious bites, recipes

Just tender cooked borlotti beans--often called cranberry beans--are a tasty late summer snack.

Use your thumb to pop open the fresh-picked speckled pods, place a few handfuls of beans in a skillet and cover with just an inch of water; add a couple of cloves of garlic, pepper corns, and fresh sage, and simmer until they are just tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Drain away the water; let the beans dry a minute or two in a colander or on paper towels; lightly salt to taste and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. You can serve them alone warm or cooled or add them to the antipasto tray with mixed cheeses and sausages.

If the beans are fresh picked just barely visible in the pod and still young, you can leave out the cooking part, and snack on the creamy textured, nutty flavored borlottis simply adding olive oil and sea salt. If you've brought home dried beans, soak those 3 to 8 hours at room temperature or place them in a saucepan covered with water and bring to a boil, remove from the heat, and soak for 1½ hours before cooking.

The borlotti bean is an oval to round, ivory and dark red to brown speckled and blotched bean. It comes in a pod very similar, streaked ivory and dark red. The beans and pods are just about the same size as a large string bean. Inside, the borlotti is cream colored. Its flavor compares to the chestnut. Borlottis are shell beans; you don't eat the pods.

Cooked borlottis are tender and moist. They are native to South America but came to Tuscany and northern Italy long ago and have long been a favorite in Italy and Spain. In Italian cookery, the borlotti is used often in bean and pasta soup, know as pasta e fagioli. The borlotti can be added to stews or combined with other vegetables as a side dish.

Enjoy the borlotti fresh in summer and dried year round. Its timing is perfect; the borlotti is ready for picking in summer just as the string bean harvest slows.

In the United States, you are most likely to find the borlotti called cranberry bean. It is also called crab eye bean, Fagiolo Romano, Roman Rosecoco Saluggia, and Salugia bean. The borlotti is related to the tongues of fire bean which is similar in appearance, perhaps more vibrant yet.

Choose. Select fresh borlottis in full, brightly colored pods.

Shell. Split open the curved inside seam of the pod with your thumb and remove the beans.

Store. Fresh borlotti beans can be kept in the refrigerator up to a week. To freeze borlotti beans, blanch briefly in boiling water, drain, and freeze in a zip-top plastic bag.

Substitute. Tongues of fire, cannellini, and pinto beans can stand in for borlotti beans.

Borlotti Bean Salad

Print Options

Ingredients

3 cups fresh-shelled borlotti beans (or 2 cups dried)
1 medium-size white onion, chopped
1-2 cloves garlic to taste, minced
1 tablespoon fresh chives, chopped
2½ teaspoons salt
Juice of two fresh lemons
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 teaspoon finely minced fresh sage
2 tablespoons coarsely ground pepper
1 red onion, thinly sliced rings
Zest strips of a lemon, lime, or orange or all three

Method

1 Place fresh beans in a 3 to 5 quart pan cover with water and bring to a boil and then simmer for 10 minutes or so, drain. (For dried beans, soak in cold water for 8 hours; drain and rinse; cover in 2 inches of water, bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for about 1½ hours; drain.)

2 Place beans in a large bowl and let cool. Mix in white onions and garlic and chives. Add lemon juice, olive oil, parsley, sage, and black pepper. Mix gently using a wooden spoon. Garnish with citrus zest strips and red onion rings. Salt and pepper to taste.

You can refrigerate this salad a day in advance then warm to room temperature and serve.

You can also simply serve the beans hot with butter and olive oil, seasoned with salt and fresh ground pepper and garnished with fresh chopped parsley.

Never Miss a New Post subscribe to Harvest to Table by entering your email:

(more details)

Currently 2.91/5
1
2
3
4
5

Rating: 2.9/5 (514 votes cast)

Harvest to Table's New Encyclopedia:
The Kitchen Garden Grower's Guide

A practical vegetable and herb garden encyclopedia

The Kitchen Garden Grower's Guide is a how-to guide on planting, growing, and preparing more than eighty vegetables and herbs. This handy home companion is perfect for avid cooks, foodies, and both beginning and expert small scale vegetable gardeners.

Harvest to Table

Harvest to Table

A practical guide to food in the garden and market

Borlotti Beans