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Culinary Explorer
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Romano Beans with Shallots
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Meaty Italian flat beans barely cooked, tossed with sweet golden shallots and finished with fruity olive oil. The kind of summer side dish that makes you wonder why anyone ever complicated vegetables.
Side Dishes
Italian
Weeknight
Quick Meal
Dinner Party
10 min
Active Time
12 min cook•22 min total
Yield4 servings
Romano beans are summer in vegetable form. Flat and wide, with a meaty texture that holds up to heat, they deserve a place at the center of your table from July through September. At the farmers' market, look for pods that feel heavy and firm, bright green with no rust spots or yellowing. They should snap cleanly when bent. If a farmer will let you taste one raw, do it. A good Romano bean is sweet and grassy, with none of the squeaky bitterness of tired produce.
This is not a recipe so much as an approach. The beans do the work. You blanch them briefly, just until tender, then warm them in a skillet with shallots that have gone soft and golden in good olive oil. A squeeze of lemon at the end wakes everything up. That is all.
I learned to cook vegetables this way in France, where the quality of the ingredient determines the success of the dish before you even light the stove. When the beans are right, you get out of the way. You do not mask them with heavy sauces or drown them in butter. You let things taste of what they are.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
Romano beans
Quantity
1 1/2 pounds
stem ends trimmed
extra-virgin olive oil
Quantity
3 tablespoons, plus more for finishing
shallots
Quantity
3 medium
thinly sliced into rings
garlic
Quantity
2 cloves
thinly sliced
fine sea salt
Quantity
to taste
black pepper
Quantity
to taste
freshly ground
fresh lemon juice
Quantity
1 tablespoon
fresh flat-leaf parsley (optional)
Quantity
small handful
leaves only
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Romano beansstem ends trimmed | 1 1/2 pounds |
| extra-virgin olive oil | 3 tablespoons, plus more for finishing |
| shallotsthinly sliced into rings | 3 medium |
| garlicthinly sliced | 2 cloves |
| fine sea salt | to taste |
| black pepperfreshly ground | to taste |
| fresh lemon juice | 1 tablespoon |
| fresh flat-leaf parsley (optional)leaves only | small handful |
Equipment Needed
- •Large pot for blanching
- •Wide skillet (12-inch)
- •Kitchen towel for drying beans
Instructions
- 1
Prepare the beans
Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Salt it generously, like the sea. While the water heats, look at your beans. They should be firm but not stiff, bright green with no yellowing, the pods plump and slightly glossy. Snap one in half. It should break cleanly with a satisfying crack. If it bends, the beans are tired.
Romano beans at peak freshness need almost nothing. Seek them out at the farmers' market in July and August when they are piled high and practically glowing. - 2
Blanch until just tender
Drop the beans into the boiling water. Cook for three to four minutes, tasting after three. You want them tender enough to yield pleasantly when bitten, but still with some resistance at the center. They should taste green and alive, not mushy or dull. Drain immediately and spread on a clean kitchen towel to dry.
Do not shock in ice water. The residual heat will finish cooking them gently, and warm beans absorb the flavors of the oil and shallots better than cold. - 3
Cook the shallots until golden
Heat the olive oil in a wide skillet over medium heat. Add the shallot rings, separating them with your fingers as they fall into the pan. Cook slowly, stirring occasionally, until they soften and turn golden at the edges, about five minutes. They should smell sweet and faintly caramelized. Add the sliced garlic in the last minute, letting it turn fragrant but not brown.
- 4
Toss beans with shallots
Add the blanched beans to the skillet. Toss gently to coat with the oil and shallots, letting them warm through for two to three minutes. Season with sea salt and black pepper. Taste. The beans should taste of themselves, the shallots adding sweetness, the oil giving richness without heaviness.
- 5
Finish and serve
Remove from heat. Squeeze the lemon juice over the beans and toss once more. Transfer to a warm serving dish. Drizzle with a final thread of good olive oil. Scatter the parsley leaves over the top if you like, though the beans are beautiful without them. Serve immediately, while everything is still warm and alive.
Chef Tips
- •At the market, ask your farmer when the beans were picked. Romano beans are best within a day or two of harvest. After that, the sugars start converting to starch and the flavor flattens.
- •The shallots should cook slowly. Rushing them over high heat produces bitter, scorched edges. Patience here gives you sweetness.
- •Save the bean cooking water for soup or risotto. It carries the flavor of summer vegetables and adds body to stocks.
- •If you cannot find Romano beans, look for Dragon Tongue beans or fresh cranberry beans in the shell. Standard green beans will work, though they lack the satisfying meatiness of the flat Italian varieties.
- •A finishing drizzle of olive oil should be your best bottle, something fruity and peppery that you would happily eat on bread.
Advance Preparation
- •Beans can be blanched up to four hours ahead and held at room temperature. The final sauté takes only five minutes.
- •This dish is best served immediately but will hold for thirty minutes at room temperature. It does not reheat well. The beans lose their aliveness.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 200g)
Calories
170 calories
Total Fat
11 g
Saturated Fat
2 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
9 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
290 mg
Total Carbohydrates
17 g
Dietary Fiber
5 g
Sugars
6 g
Protein
4 g
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