Borlotti Beans — A Recipe for 3 Days

The first few months of the year are, let’s be honest, not the easiest to get through. The pressure of all festivities has lifted, but the metaphorical newness is not yet in place. The solution? Lean into it. Sleep. Spend less time on mundane tasks. Here, we go batch instead of from-scratch cooking to give yourself space to linger, to think, to unlearn, to soak.

Speaking of soaking — how lucky are we for the presence of dried beans. On the long list of culinary souvenirs from Italy, borlotti beans always sit right at the top. They have that distinct nutty flavour, are forgiving cooking companions, and don’t look bad either. You can however find them in delis or larger supermarkets.

— 450g dried borlotti beans (80g dry per head per portion)
— 4–5 shallots
—  1 head of garlic
— 4 celery stalks
— Bay leaf and a few sprigs of rosemary
— Good quality olive oil
— Around 300ml glass of wine (don’t be afraid of that old bottle in your fridge)

1. Soak
The night before ‘borlotti week’, soak the beans for about 12 hours using double their volume of water, and a bowl large enough for said beans to expand.

2. Prepare the veg
Peel the garlic head into cloves and bash them with the flat side of a knife. No peeling needed. Chop the celery into half-centimetre pieces. Cut the shallots lengthwise into generous pieces.

3. Start the base
In a heavy pot, warm a generous glug of olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the shallots and cook slowly with a pinch of salt until relatively soft, about 6–10 minutes (no browning).

4. Aromatics
Add the garlic cloves, bay leaf, and rosemary sprigs. Let everything gently sizzle for 1–2 minutes, until fragrant.

5. Wine
Pour in the wine. Let it bubble and reduce by about half to cook off the alcohol.

6. Beans & water
Add the drained beans and enough water to cover them by about 3–4 cm. Bring to a gentle boil, then lower to a steady simmer.

7. Cook low and slow
Simmer uncovered for about 90 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the beans are tender and creamy. Salt generously when almost done. Salting the beans too early will make them, like many pulses, more mushy. Top up with hot water if needed and finish with more olive oil.

— Lightly season the cod with salt and pepper.

— In a wide, shallow pan, add wine (enough to come halfway up the fish) and a little olive oil (you can also use milk with a few aromatics instead of wine).

— Add 1–2 pieces of leek, about 8 cm long, and boil for 4 minutes. Turn the heat down below a simmer—you want steam and tiny bubbles, not boiling. Slide in your cod loin (around 150g). Lower the heat so the liquid barely trembles. Poach for 6–8 minutes for thick fillets. The cod should turn opaque and flake easily.

— Remove both cod and leek. Peel away the outer layer of the leeks and cut them lengthwise. Place on your first batch of beans. Finish with a squeeze of lemon juice, salt, and pepper.

On the second day, the flavour of your beans will be more nutty and have more depth. This is the time to let them shine — although they are pretty much the opposite in appearance. A favourite combination is simply some herbs or salsa verde, just about warmed through, with a dollop of aioli hugging from above. Homemade and on the runnier side is highly recommended here. Plate and enjoy.

After brothy comes creamy. Pasta e Fagioli, or “pasta e fasoi” (dialect for beans), comes from Italy’s rural peasant kitchens. It’s a cucina povera dish — born out of necessity and local agriculture. Traditionally, you’d make a sofritto and a few other amendments — but we’re skipping all that in your fuss-free borlotti week.

— Cook your favourite pasta shape in plenty of salted water while slowly warming your remaining batched beans alongside.

— Set aside a small jar of beans and use a pestle and mortar to turn them into a paste—whole pieces of garlic encouraged to stay in.

— Add some pasta water to the paste until you have a sauce. Transfer to a bowl.

— Toss the pasta through the sauce, add the remaining beans, then finish with fresh herbs (tarragon is wonderful here) and pecorino or parmesan.

Eat with a fork and spoon instead of your eyes.

And here we (you) are—three days closer to spring.