Fagioli Puttanesco

Fagioli Puttenesca or Roma Beans with fresh tomatoes

Did you know…

Literally, depending on which Italian dictionary you read,“alla puttenesca” means “in the garbage style” OR “in the whore’s style”. Gives both whores and garbage a higher standing in my book.

In case you do not know, Roma Italian beans are a long, flat bean, hearty and filling with a bit of nut to their flavor. They stand up well to cooking,which means if you walk away, they do not turn to mush as quickly as string beans. If you like to grow food, they are a pretty, abundant and satisfying crop. They are a pole bean so you will get a long season of picking and even if they get a little big, they are still tasty and are lovely in soups.

This is a quick and easy meal, ready to eat in about 20 minutes.

Ingredients:

• Roma Green Beans
• Fresh garlic, chopped as fine as you like
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Salt
• Peppercorns or ground pepper
• chopped fresh tomatoes, preferably a Roma style, but any fresh tomato will be delicious.
• Pecorino Romano cheese,Parmigiano or Asiago cheese, freshly grated.

A handful of whole beans is usually just right for one serving.

Depending on how long they are and how long you want them on your plate,break each bean into 2 or 3 pieces and set aside.

Pour a generous film of olive oil in a saute pan. Heat over medium heat.

Add as much chopped garlic as you like, stir around the pan until the garlic starts to turn golden.

The longer you cook the garlic, the more mild the flavor for those of you who do not like to sharp pungency of garlic. If you are going to cook the garlic longer, turn the heat down so it does not get too brown too quickly.

Once the garlic starts to golden, add your broken beans and sprinkle generously with salt.  With heat on medium, stir beans around your pan until they are done to your liking. I like them al dente , meaning “with tooth”. The garlic should brown a little more and get just a wee bit crispy.

With heat on, add chopped tomatoes and stir to mix into beans and garlic.This will blanch the tomatoes but not cook them too much so you will still have that bright, fresh tomato flavor. But if you like your tomatoes cooked more, go ahead, let the whole pan simmer for a few minutes.

Turn onto plate and sprinkle with a few grinds of black pepper and grated  cheese.

Optional : You may add pasta and/ or meat of your choice.

Mangia Bene!