In season—and farmers markets—right now, Romano beans are simply, slowly cooked with olive oil, salt and chili pepper, then tossed with lemon juice and chopped cashews for a summery side or a lunch on their own. Recipe below.
[su_dropcap style=”flat”]T[/su_dropcap]he first thing I did when we got home from our latest giant road trip was go out to survey the back 40. What with almost two weeks of neglect and dry weather, I had figured that things in the garden could be anything from merely meh to disastrous. They were actually pretty wonderful!
Very few tomatoes so far, but the basil is perking along handsomely. The shishito peppers are coming in, and from now until frost I can expect enough for a good side dish every six or seven days. The Japanese eggplants and herbs are all doing very nicely, thanks. I picked, and then ate, a huge bowl of red currants—first crop ever at our new old house!
But most wonderful of all, the Romano beans, which two weeks ago were these petite, very juvenile plants just barely starting to flower, had produced a nice little first crop, pale green flat pods that were just the perfect size. I lifted up one of the plants, and saw four or five handsome beans dangling down, and, standing all alone in the yard, said WELL, WOW.
Also known as Italian flat beans or Italian pole beans, Romanos are related to the whole family of green beans. They’re four to six inches long when mature, with crisp pods and six or so tiny peas inside. You don’t have to grow your own, but to get these, it helps to be on the lookout. This is the time of year to seek them out at farmers markets and specialty grocers, all the while hoping that another Romano bean fanatic does not find them before you do.
One of the greatest restaurant dishes I ever had was a simple dish of Romano beans with fresh tomato, cooked by Allie Levitt at the late lamented Mado. Since we don’t have tomatoes quite yet, except for a very few tiny Sun Golds, I needed to figure out another way and set out on one of our characteristic magpie explorations online.
People cook Romano beans many different ways—blanching, pickling, grilling—even eating them raw. But to me, what they really need to bring out their best is long, slow cooking. This recipe takes two hours of cooking over the lowest heat possible. In the end, you get a bean that is soft and tender and firm (even meaty!) on the outside, with the tiny beans delightfully creamy on the inside. It’s really an incomparable thing—no other bean offers that mix of textures.
The recipe, while not quick, is quite simple. You toss the beans with olive oil, salt and some pepper—isot, Aleppo or chili. Add garlic and cook long and low. Toss with some lemon juice and chopped cashews at the end. That’s it.
This makes a terrific side dish alongside grilled anything, or with a simple macaroni and cheese or an omelet. Or you can do what we did and just make this your entire lunch. Very satisfying.
Slow-cooked Romano Beans with Cashews
Serves 4 as a side, 2 as lunch
1-1/2 pounds Romano beans, topped and tailed
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon isot pepper or Aleppo pepper, or 1/4 teaspoon chili pepper
2 big cloves of garlic, peeled and lightly crushed
1-1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup roasted, chopped cashews
Equipment: a heavy-bottom pot with a tight lid—I used a cast-iron Dutch oven
Put the Romano beans into the pot. Add the olive oil, salt and pepper and toss everything together with your hands. Turn on the heat—you want the flame to be as low as your stove will allow it to be. Dot the garlic cloves on top. Put on the lid.
Every ten minutes or so, take off the lid and give everything a stir, then replace the lid. Keep doing this until the beans are cooked through and starting to wilt. You don’t want al dente crunch—you want soft and kind of droopy. That’s when they will be done.
Add the lemon juice and toss, then toss again with most of the chopped roasted cashews (save some for garnish). Serve; devour.
Kitchen Notes
Entire garlic cloves? The garlic cloves will dissolve into the whole, leaving a mild, sweet essence.
Grow my own? For those of us with small yards, it’s not really worth growing most things—it simply is far less costly to buy sturdy reliables like potatoes, beets and onions in the store. But I make exceptions for some things, and one of them is Romano beans. If you have a yard, next year, try to grow these. They are simple to start, and in fact do best when direct sown, avoiding that whole preliminary indoor germination thing, and a few weeks later you are eating something wonderful. I got my seeds (“Roma II Bush Beans”) from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, our source for most of our seeds.
We’ve never grown Romano beans. This recipe looks excellent, so we should give them a try if for no other reason than to cook this! We also have a small garden and are growing a few tomato plants, some greens, and tons of herbs. Herbs are doing the best this year (with the exception of parsley, oddly enough). Our basil plants look like little shrubs!
I grow a Romano bean called Spanish Musica Bean from Renee’s Garden Seeds. They are absolutely fabulous. I over cook them as well using Marcella Hazen’s recipe for Aunt Enza’s Overstewed Green Beans. It’s made with tomatoes as well and sometimes I add potatoes and call it a meal.
John, our herbs are doing very well also – thank you!
Lynn. next year I am trying these. Thanks for the recommendation! I had never heard of Renee’s before and am exploring the catalog right now.
I love beans cooked this way.
At my old place, I used to grow a yellow romano called Goldmarie that was so sweet and delicious, not to mention majorly prolific. It was a wonderful bean.
In my new garden, I only have a couple bean trellises alongside the major veg bed (so far) and have black runner beans on one and Kew Blue beans on another. The Kew blues have been delicious so far and the runner beans are just beginning to set fruit. It feels so good to be able to step outside and pick dinner!
Christina, doesn’t it? And now I’ve got a whole new bowl of romanos on the countertop, plus some peppers and a couple of kinds of eggplants are just getting started. So, so marvelous.