Alubia Blanca Bean

Rancho Gordo was founded by Steven Sando

COOKING TIPS

* Pile these delicate legumes on a piece of grilled Tuscan bread, drizzle with fruity, green olive oil, and sprinkle with chopped sage and grated dry cheese, making an Italian "beans on toast."

* You can cook them with a ham hock or pancetta.

* They're also great with a few simple aromatics like onion, carrot, and celery.

* Wild Rice, White Beans and Tomatoes

1. In a bowl, combine the cubed heirloom tomato, olive oil, salt and pepper, and vinegar. Let stand for at least 30 minutes.
2. To make the salad, toss the cooked wild rice with a generous drizzle of olive oil. Make a ring around a bowl with the rice, then add the macerated tomatoes and finally the cooked beans. Sprinkle with parsley and maybe indulge yourself with one small drizzle of olive oil.

* A simple bowl with roasted tomatoes and garlic would be incredible.

* Alubia beans with Italian Salsa Verde
: Wonderful big, fat white beans topped with an intense green sauce.

To make Italian salsa verde:
Pound a clove of garlic with some salt and make a paste.
Add chopped fresh sage and flat-leaf parsley (about 3 parts sage to one part parsley) and continue pounding as you add really good olive oil. You could use a mortar and pestle or use a mini food processor.

* Use Alubia Blancas in recipes calling for navy beans, great northerns, cannellini or white kidney beans. They would also make a fair substitute for the rare Zolfini beans from Tuscany.

Ingredients