Sorana bean ✦

Haricot de Sorana

What it is

It grows on one strip of sand and gravel along the Pescia river, the ghiareto, on ground reclaimed under the Medici and later the grand dukes; the skin that all but disappears in cooking is credited to that poor, fast-draining soil and the damp valley air. The protected area is measured in hectares, and the plants are still staked on cane by hand.

In the kitchen

Cook it in unsalted water at a bare tremble, or in a low oven, with a garlic clove and a sage leaf, then dress it warm with oil and pepper. There is no skin to hold it together, so a real boil shreds it — and it needs no soffritto to hide behind.

Goes with

Olive oil Rosemary Tomato Prosciutto di Parma Black pepper Garlic Parsley

Same species

Ayocote bean Black bean Borlotti bean Cannellini bean Coco de Paimpol Faba asturiana

In season alongside

Halibut Whitefish (féra) Albacore Japanese tilefish (amadai) Amethyst deceiver Hind

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