cannellini freschi con pomodori ciliegia arrosto / fresh cannellini beans with roasted cherry tomatoes

Recently, a friend of mine alerted me to the presence at the farmers' market of fresh cannellini beans. I had to admit that I had never seen cannellini in their pods. I particularly like the contrast between the green pod (baccello) and the white beans (fagioli) it contains.

I visited the stall and bought a pound, but made no immediate decision regarding how to prepare the beans. Some sort of salad seemed like a reasonable plan, the idea being to let the flavor of the fresh beans take center stage. After shelling them, I cooked the beans in two cups of water with aromatics, as I usually do with dried and soaked beans: onion (about a quarter of a medium one, thickly sliced), a clove of garlic (also thickly sliced), a bay leaf, a few parsley stems, plus a pinch of salt. Once the beans were ready, I let them cool in their broth.

My original vague plan was sidetracked due to having found pomodori ciliegia¹ (cherry tomatoes) at the market. It was late in the season (early November), so it was a surprise and one that lit up my husband's eyes. He has publicly declared that tomatoes are his favorite food. I have been in a cherry tomato roasting frenzy this season, an obsession that delighted him. I purchased a couple of pints to make my husband happy again, ahead of the long tomato-less months.

The tomatoes next to the beans in my market basket made me think of fagioli all'uccelletto, that classical Italian take on the pairing of tomatoes and beans. However, what I ended up making is more akin to a warm salad.

I oven-roast cherry tomatoes, halved lengthwise, at 350 F for 45 minutes (check them after 40 minutes). Before roasting them, I toss them lightly with a bit of olive oil and some slivered fresh basil. I don't use salt, due to an old personal preference. I then arrange the tomatoes in one layer, cut side up, on a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat and place in the oven.

Shortly before the tomatoes are ready, check the beans: if they are cold, warm them up a bit in their broth, so that there is not much difference between their temperature and that of the tomatoes hot out of the oven. Drain the warm beans (I reserve the liquid and add it to soups), add salt to taste and just a little bit of freshly ground pepper and mix. Distribute the tomatoes over the beans. Top with freshly grated parmigiano reggiano or try another cheese. The second time I prepared the beans, I grated some of my homemade blue-veined cheese and used that as topping: that is what you see in the photo (taken the day after I prepared the dish, so I could use natural light). Serve immediately, possibly accompanied with slices of homemade country-style bread (pane casereccio).

I really liked the flavor and texture of the cannellini, and I think that the pairing with tomatoes and cheese worked well. Now the question is: have you ever seen/purchased fresh cannellini?

This is my contribution to edition #260 of Weekend Herb Blogging, an event started by Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen, now organized by Haalo of Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once and hosted this week by the organizer herself to celebrate 5 years of WHB.

This post contains the roundup of the event.

¹ In Italy, cherry tomatoes are also referred to as pomodorini ciliegia and pomodori ciliegini.

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:

cannellini freschi con pomodori ciliegia arrosto

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Comments

[Ivy]

Your recipe is mouthwatering. As much as I love fresh beans, I hate shelling beans, peas etc., so I don't cook these more than a couple of times a year.

[Soma]

I have never seen these beans in their pods. they are truly beautiful! and believe me, the moment I saw these in the WHB I was thinking roasted tomatoes!! Gosh, and now you have it here. I love roasted tomatoes and would love to add a touch of sumac to these beans and roasted tomatoes (I am not too fond of cheese). Thanks for introducing me to these beauties, I will look for them now.

[tigerfish]

I have not tried fresh cannelini beans!Thanks for sharing.

[Claudia]

Someone (me?) needs to grow cannelini beans, so then I can experience the fresh version. Your pairing sounds heavenly.

[Lisa]

I never have used fresh cannellini, because I've never seen them around here, unfortunately. But I've used a couple of other types of fresh beans that I've gotten at our farmers' market. I love them all!

Your photos are fabulous, Simona. Just beautiful. I feel like I could reach a spoon into the one of the "salad" and start eating. And isn't it interesting how dark the pod around the completely white beans is.

Now I have to make some beans and tomatoes soon.

[astrofiammante]

e io che i cannellini li conosco solo in scatola.......^_____^ un buon piatto certamente, con i pomodorini arrosto a insaporire i delicati fagioli, ciauzzzzzzz

[Cynthia]

Eccomi, sempre la solita che parla un po' (un po'?) a sproposito. La settimana scorsa sono andata al Farmers' Market in centro a Boston (Copley, per chiunque legga e sia pratica della zona). Mi e' venuto l'atroce sospetto che le carote e i parsnip (portulache? Li hai mai visti in Italia? Io no) erano vecchiotti. Naturalmente il sospetto mi e' venuto dopo, col classico senno di poi. Ho fatto una vellutata con le verdure e lo zenzero. Ma il risultato finale non giustificava lo spostamento fino in centro e il costo. Che ne dici? Ho letto abbastanza in rete sulla frode ai Farmers' Market.Tipo verdure comprate all'ingrosso e poi rivendute come se venissero dall'orto. Che esperienza hai avuto? Qualche sospetto?

Ciao e buon Thanksgiving.

Cinzia

[Paz]

Oh, this looks good. i've never had fresh cannellini beans before, just the canned ones. i'll have to change that very soon. ;-)

[Simona Carini]

Ciao Ivy. I disliked shelling peas and beans as a child, but now I am able to make it into a relaxing activity and I make sure I don't shell a big quantity.

Hi Soma. Glad you enjoyed the post. The beans were a nice surprise. I hope the farmer plants them again next year. The flavor and texture are very nice. I will look for sumac: I have never tried using it.

Hi tigerfish. I guess it's one of these things that it's possible to find only at a farmers' market, though you never know.

Ciao Claudia. Growing cannellini is a great idea. I am not sure how intense an effort it would be. Let me know if you try.

Ciao Lisa. I think fresh beans are just great. Cranberry beans are easier to find, though even those are usually available only for a short period. Maybe you can ask some of the farmers you know from the market what they think about selling more fresh beans. Glad you like the photos.

Ciao Astro. Anch'io fino a qualche tempo fa conoscevo solo i cannellini in scatola, quindi puoi immaginare che emozione vederli freschi da sgranare. Saluti dalla California.

Ciao Cynthia: mi fa sempre piacere leggere i tuoi commenti. Anche io la portulaca l'ho conosciuta qui. Al mercato che frequento regolarmente ormai conosco molti dei produttori da diversi anni. Ma anche ad un altro mercato che frequento piu' raramente, non ho mai avuto problemi per quanto riguarda la qualita' della merce acquistata. Se fossi in te riproverei, magari cercando un mercato che ti e' piu' comodo, cosi' che puoi andarci spesso e acquistare familiarita' con i vari produttori. Buon Thanksgiving anche a te.

Ciao Paz. They are really good.

[Foodycat]

I've never seen fresh cannellini beans! The greengrocer near where I lived in Sydney used to sell fresh borlotti, but I never bought them because I didn't know what to do with them. What a wasted opportunity!

[ela]

can cannellini beans grow here in Philippines? I would love to try your recipe.
your photo looks mouth watering. the contrast between the tomatoes and beans are great.
glad to see you in the round up

[Simona Carini]

Ciao Alicia. I got fresh borlotti last year and the year prior. This year, the weather damaged the crop pretty badly. I still have a small bag in the freezer and I treasure it. I made delicious fagioli all'uccelletto with them. Maybe you will be able to find some fresh beans in your area.

Hi Ela. I really don't know what are the requirements for growing cannellini beans in terms of temperature and soil. I wish I could be more helpful. I wish you luck: I hope you get to try.