Cibo e Famiglia (Food and Family): Borlotti Beans and Quinoa

Every week our bags from our CSA, www.thefoodproject.org are growing heavier. This week we brought home a new item, at least new to both of us. We had a bag with strange looking pods looking back at us so off to the computer I went and found out they were fresh Borlotti Beans. I'm not sure if it ever gets boring for me, but I have to tell you I love finding new foods.

The borlotti bean is also called the cranberry bean. It's a classic Italian bean off white in color with red markings. It has a nutty flavor with a creamy texture and is said to be a culinary treat.

Most recipes I found called for it in soups or salads, but I thought I would experiment with a few other vegetables we received this week.

I began by removing the beans from the pod and even though they were fresh, I let them sit in water overnight and boiled them in the morning. They are adorable prior to cooking, but really do lose their color once cooked.

I received a very large ugly tomato and a good size patty pan squash along with onions, so I sliced them, covered them with olive oil, salt and pepper and put them in a high heat oven to roast. I also made one cup of quinoa.

Once everything was ready, I cut the vegetables into small pieces and mixed it all together. For the finishing touch, I added fresh basil and a little extra virgin olive oil. Yum! It was good and healthy. I can now say that don't always need to add cheese to everything i create.

Let's see, from this week I used the borlotti beans, onion, patty pan squash, tomato and basil in this dish. I am really pleased with our CSA and cannot wait to finish up my bounty this week, creating new dishes.