The Omnivorous Fish

It’s nice to be home again. I haven’t posted much because the Agent and I have been averaging about 6 bags of trash per day since I got back. Throwing out old stuff, cleaning other stuff, unpacking my stuff, etc. About half of my dishes are out and gleaming. 3/4 or so the batterie de cuisine is out and about. Next week the butcher block table arrives. The 50 bottle wine fridge is in place. It’s a rental so I’m dealing with the stove. Otherwise, life is good.

The other day, the Agent came home from work and I cooked dinner for him. It sounds easy, doesn’t it? Well, in our world it’s not. It’s not easy when you’re living with the roommate from hell who thinks the kitchen should be cleaned no less than once a year. It’s hard when I’m on the road. It’s hard when he gets done work at 6:30 and I leave for work at 6:15. It’s hard when your whole life is in boxes. But for right now, it’s easy- and it’s nice.

Let’s talk about cranberry beans. They may or may not be botanically identical to Italian borlotti beans, but in the US, borlotti usually refers to a dried bean. There is also an American heirloom breed called “true cranberry” and “red cranberry” beans. Apparently this variety is native to the Northeast, specifically Vermont, which is nice for them, although botanically they are only related to standard cranberry beans as shell beans. They’re those pods- if you don’t know- that you might have seen in the supermarket or farmstand that look like they’re moving at light speed: streaked with white, red, fuchsia, magenta and pink. Cranberry Bean Pods
When you shell them, they’re just as vibrant, spotted with all the colors of their pods. They’re easy to shell, too; just tear off the strings and the beans fall right out. If the photo gives you any indication, these are the most muted lot of cranberry beans I have ever seen. Cranberry Beans
This may or may not have to do with it being the end of the shell bean season. If anyone knows, please email me.

Beans and squash have a long history in Italian cooking. Everything from favas with early zucchini to cannellini beans with padana; they’re in it together. When I went to the market, I was hoping to pick up a cheese pumpkin, but it’s still a little too early and Stokes Farm had fantastic young butternut squashes, so here we are.

We drank a Bastianich Tocai Friulano 2004, a crisp, affordable white (it’s also the bar wine at Becco) and had some Ciao Bello pistachio gelato for dessert. It’s an easy two-pan midweek meal, Don’t forget to save your pasta water; it’s like good advice when you’re drunk: hazy, but important, though you might not know why.

(I’M NOT SURE WHY I FELT THE NEED TO TYPE THE INGREDIENTS IN ALL CAPS, BUT I’M NOT CHANGING IT NOW.)

Orecchiette With Cranberry Beans and Squash

Serves 2 as a main course, 3 or 4 as a first course.

1 SMALL BUTTERNUT SQUASH (or part of a sugar pie or cheese pumpkin or hubbard squash) PEELED, CUT INTO 1/2” PIECES (2 TO 2-1/2 CUPS)
1-2 TBSN EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL
SALT
FRESHLY GROUND WHITE PEPPER
PINCH HERBES DE PROVENCE

1-1/2 CUP SHELLED CRANBERRY BEANS (FROM 3/4 POUND IN THE POD)
2 BAY LEAVES

8 OZ ORECCHIETTE
3 TBSN BUTTER
1/2-1 CUP PASTA WATER
3/4 CUP PECORINO ROMANO, PLUS MORE FOR SERVING
FRESHLY GROUND BLACK PEPPER

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Toss squash pieces in barely enough olive oil to coat them and sprinkle with salt, white pepper and a tiny pinch of herbes de provence. Place in the oven and roast for 25-45 minutes- stirring once or twice- until squash is caramelized all over and is just getting dark around the edges. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Bring two or three quarts of water to the boil in a saucepan. Add bay leaves and the beans and boil gently for 12-20 minutes, depending on the size of your beans and the time of the year. Drain them when they are just tender. Their color will fade while cooking.

Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. How much salt? I don’t know. I have heard the figure 1 tablespoon per quart, I have heard one tablespoon for two quarts. I look at how the salt disperses in the water, then I taste it. It should be almost as salty as seawater, just without the sewage. I will, however, come up with a figure for you at some point.

When your water is at a rolling boil, add the pasta and stir immediately. Cook the pasta, stirring frequently, until it is barely al dente, which means “to the tooth,” not “toothsome” as some people who shall remain nameless have put forth. It should yield to the bite, but be neither crunchy nor mushy. And remember, unless you are cooking fresh pasta or reheating previously cooked pasta the only way to know if it is done is to taste it, and frequently. If you have to err, err on the crunchy side; the pasta will continue to cook as you assemble the sauce.

Dip a pyrex or metal cup into the pasta pot and reserve 1 cup or more pasta water and drain the pasta. Return the pasta to the now dry pot and set over low heat. Add the butter and cheese, stirringly constantly, moving the pot on and off the heat if necessary so the pasta doesn’t stick. Add pasta water as needed or desired to make a saucy consistency. Stir in the beans and squash. Serve in hot bowls and grind black pepper over the top, and serve immediately with additional cheese on the side.