Fresh borlotti beans, sold in their beautiful mottled pods, are found in all the markets in Italy and increasingly, because of demand, in specialist Italian shops here. Four or five different varieties are grown.
When buying fresh borlotti beans, choose ripe pods that are stiff. The red flecks should be dark rather than pale. The beans are round, and the colour white or cream with red stripes, hence the name ‘fagioli scritti’, ‘written beans’. Unripe pods tend to be flatter in shape, often quite greenish with pale red mottling, and the beans inside will still be green.
Ripe pods split open easily to reveal their plump beans. Discard split beans, shooting beans and green beans. You do not need to wash them. Never cook beans in salted water – the salt toughens the skins – but season them when cooked.
Fresh borlotti beans have a marvellous creamy and nutty flavour, and are delicious just seasoned and served with extra virgin olive oil as they do in Tuscany. In Venice and the Veneto, borlotti beans, fresh and dried, are used in pasta soups and risottos.
Many of the varieties grown dry well. Borlotti di Lamon, found only in an area in the north-east, are considered the best. Recently, frozen fresh borlotti beans have become available. We find them excellent.