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Jim Dixon wrote about food for WW for more than 20 years, but these days most of his time is spent at his olive oil-focused specialty food business Wellspent Market. Jim’s always loved to eat, and he encourages his customers to cook by sending them recipes every week through his newsletter. We’re happy to have him back creating some special dishes just for WW readers.
Marcella Hazan told Rancho Gordo’s Steve Sando that her favorite bean was an elusive white cannellini bean called sorano, named after the town where it grew in Tuscany. He tracked down some seeds, grew the beans and, after Hazan died, named them Marcella in her memory.
My favorite way to cook them (which was also Marcella’s) is the old Tuscan method called fagioli in fiasco, or beans in a bottle. I call them no-soak beans in the oven, and the only ingredients are beans, water, olive oil and salt. I use an old clay bean pot from the thrift store, but anything with a lid that can go in the oven will work.
To a cup of dry beans add 3½ cups of water, a big pinch (about a tablespoon) of sea salt, and a healthy glug (a couple of tablespoons) of extra virgin olive oil. Cook in a 250-degree oven for at least 3 hours, checking occasionally and adding water to cover the beans if needed. When the beans are soft and creamy, they’re ready. Let them cool in their cooking liquid. There won’t be much, but drain them if the beans are very soupy (save the bean stock for another use; it’s delicious).
If I’ve got a fire already going, I’ll use it to grill the fennel, but your oven’s broiler can do the job, or, in a pinch, a stovetop ridged grill pan. Trim the stalks from the fennel bulb. You chop some of the feathery fronds and add them to the salad; they don’t add much flavor but they look nice. Slice down through the stalk end to cut the bulb in half from top to bottom. Grill both sides until they have some color, maybe a few minutes on each side depending on the heat of your fire.
Recipe
3-4 cups cooked Rancho Gordo Marcella beans or similar white beans*
1 fennel bulb, grilled and chopped into bite-sized pieces
½ cup diced celery, preferably the lighter inner stalks with leaves
½ cup chopped fresh mint leaves*
2 tablespoons wine vinegar
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
*If you cook them in the oven as described you’ll have 3-4 cups. I never actually measure herbs, but a big handful of mint should yield about ½ cup after chopping.
If your cooked beans are brothy, drain and save the liquid for another use. Combine the beans, fennel, celery and mint. Add the vinegar and olive oil and mix. Taste and add more salt if needed. Best at room temperature.