Italian Vegetable Garden. Rosalind Creasy
a fairly strong trellis to climb on. Plant the seeds 1 inch (2.5 cm) deep, 6 inches (15 cm) apart. If the plants look pale midseason, fertilize them with fish emulsion. They are best watered deeply and infrequently; water at the base of the plants to prevent mildew.
Fava beans need a long, cool growing period of about 90 days and can even take repeated frost. In areas where winters don’t dip below the low teens, plant favas in the fall. In very cold winter areas, plant favas at the same time as peas if you have long springs. Plant the seeds 2 inches (5 cm) deep, about 2–3 inches (5–8 cm) apart, in rows about 1½ feet (0.46 m) apart. Support the tall varieties with stakes and strings surrounding the outside of the beds.
In some areas bean beetles can be a serious problem. Other pests include beanloopers, whiteflies, aphids, and cucumber beetles. To help prevent diseases like anthracnose and leaf spots, plant resistant varieties, use drip irrigation rather than overhead watering, and do not work with the plants when they are wet. Black aphids are about the only pest of fava beans, and can be readily controlled by sprays of water.
Harvest snap beans when the seeds inside are still very small and the pods are tender. Harvest fresh shelling beans when the pods fill out noticeably but before they get dry. If the pods get too mature, allow them to dry for winter use. Young fava bean foliage can be harvested and cooked as you would other greens. The pods of the fava bean can be cooked when they’re 3–4 inches (8–10 cm) long. Harvest young, tender fava beans that do not need their skins removed when they first start to fill out the pods. Or let the fava beans mature and use them fresh or dried.
Yellow Anellino, Borlotto and Romano beans
VARIETIES
Anellino Beans (cornetti)
Green Anellino (Gancetto Verde): 85 days, pole, green Italian heirloom snap bean, stringless, crescent-shaped pod with rich bean flavor
Yellow Anellino (Gancetto Burro): 80 days, pole, yellow Italian heirloom snap bean, small, crescent-shaped pod, rich bean flavor
Fava Beans
Sweet Lorane: 240 days if sown in fall; small-seeded fava, good flavor, cold-hardy
Windsor: 75–80 days, bush, grows on an erect 2- to 4-foot (0.6–1.2 m) stalk, long green pods (up to 10 inches/25 cm), large, broad, light green beans
Purple Snap Beans
Trionfo Violetto: 60 days, pole, stringless, purple Italian heirloom, vigorous and attractive vines with deep lavender flowers
Romano Beans
Burro d’Ingegnoli (A cornetto largo giallo Burro d’Ingegnoli): 78 days, pole, stringless, very broad, deep yellow with large round seeds; very tender and almost buttery in flavor
Garafal Oro: 67 days, pole, large (up to 1 foot/0.3 m) beans with good flavor and delicate texture, very fast growing, vigorous vines, disease-resistant
Roma II: 50 days, bush, stringless, green, wide, thick pods with rich flavor, productive, resistant to bean mosaic virus
Wax Romano: 58 days, bush, light yellow, flavorful pods with meaty texture; vigorous plants
Cannellini
CAUTION Some males of Mediterranean descent are allergic to favas and should be wary when trying them for the first time.
Shelling Beans
Cannellini: 75–80 days (for shelling, longer to dry), white, kidney-shaped, classic for Italian minestrone soup, also great for baking
Borlotto: 73 days, bush, Italian heirloom, colorful rose and cream pods, delicious creamy white beans with rosy speckles, sometimes referred to as cranberry beans
HOW TO PREPARE: In Italy standard green snap beans are usually boiled in a large pot or steamed until just tender. For salads they are left to cool; but most often they are cooked again, usually warmed in a sauté pan with olive oil (occasionally butter). Sometimes Parmesan cheese, anchovies, or garlic is added. Snap beans are served with pasta, sometimes combined with new potatoes or tomatoes. My favorite is snap beans with a pesto sauce served over penne pasta. The romano beans, particularly the yellow ones, must be watched carefully during cooking, as they turn to mush very quickly.
Fresh shelling beans like the borlotto types are usually boiled until just tender, then served with olive oil, Parmesan cheese, and garlic or used cold in a bean salad. They also are combined with leafy cutting types of chicory or broccoli raab and served in a sauce over pasta.
Fava beans in Italy are eaten at different stages. Young pods under 4 inches (10 cm) are boiled whole in salted water and seasoned with olive oil and garlic. When pods start to fill out, the small beans inside are sometimes served raw with salt or pecorino cheese at the end of a meal. Fava beans are most often cooked like lima beans, served with olive oil or butter and Parmesan cheese or cooked with pancetta. Simmer the young ones and add them to chopped tomatoes for a pasta sauce; use the older beans peeled or dried in hearty soups or with meats.
Dried beans are most popular in Italy, both the cannellini and the borlotto. Particularly in Tuscany and Florence there are numerous local dishes. White beans baked with olive oil, garlic, and sage is a favorite, as is the “twice boiled” soup ribollita. In ribollita the beans are simmered with aromatic vegetables until the soup is fairly thick; half the beans are then pureed and added back to the soup, which is eaten the next day. The soup is warmed, seasoned, and served over toasted bread. Tuscan black kale (lacinato) is the traditional vegetable added to this soup. Fresh or dried borlotto beans are integral to a mussel soup flavored with basil. Dried beans are important in the soup pasta e fagioli; they are also served with tuna over pasta or combined with rice and vegetables.
BORAGE
(borragine) Borago officinalis
This potherb is native to Europe and Africa and has a slight cucumber flavor. It’s one of many spring greens gathered from the fields and hillsides of Italy to be used for salads and as a cooked green.
HOW TO GROW: Borage is an easily grown summer annual that sometimes acts like a biennial. Borage plants grow to about 2 feet (0.6 m) and have hairy gray leaves and deep blue, ½-inch (13 mm) star-shaped flowers. Plants are easily started from seeds. Sow the seeds in spring after all threat of frost is over, in average soil and full sun. You can harvest young leaves once the plants are established, and flowers anytime they appear. Borage often reseeds itself and winters over in mild climates.
HOW TO PREPARE: In Italy very young leaves are added to salads and soups. The 1-inch (2.5 cm) borage flowers can be used in salads or to garnish drinks. The more mature leaves are hairy and are best consumed cooked, since cooking removes the hairy texture. Combine the leaves with other greens, both domestic and wild, in calzone and ravioli, in risotto, and on pizzas, or make them into nests that can be filled with eggs or cheese.
Borage
CAUTION Pregnant and lactating women should avoid borage flowers, as eating more than eight to ten flowers can cause milk to flow!
BROCCOLI, HEADING
(cavoli broccoli) Brassica oleracea var. botrytis
BROCCOLI, SPROUTING
(cavoli broccoli) B. oleracea var. italica
BROCCOLI RAAB