Braised Cranberry Beans

Erin Scott

Designed to use fresh shelling beans, this recipe also works with soaked dried beans.

Here, a classic recipe from Marcella Hazan gets topped with a crisp salad of bitter greens. If you’re lucky enough to have any leftover beans, they are particularly good mixed with a bit more olive oil, high-quality canned tuna, and some diced red onion. In fact, that combination is so good, you might consider making a double batch of the beans.

Here’s the story of Marcella Hazan and her love for cranberry beans: Marcella Hazan and Her Namesake Bean.

If you can’t find fresh cranberry beans at your farmers market or grocery store, you can order them from our friends at Rancho Gordo: Marcella Beans.

Braised Cranberry Beans

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Here, a classic recipe from Marcella Hazan gets topped with a crisp salad of bitter greens. "“To Marcella, one of the ultimate pleasures in life was warm beans with good olive oil,” said her husband, Victor Hazan.

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cranberry beans, marcella hazan, shell beans

Servings: 6

Calories: 361kcal

Author: Molly Watson

Ingredients

• 2 pounds fresh cranberry beans
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 4 large fresh sage leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• freshly ground black pepper

For the salad

• 4 cups frisée or radicchio
• 1 shallot
• 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon ground mustard

Instructions

• 1. Shell the cranberry beans. Peel and crush the garlic cloves.
• Heat a medium pot or large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil, cranberry beans, garlic, sage leaves, and salt along with 1/2 cup of water. Bring to a simmer, cover, reduce heat to low, and cook—stirring every 10 to 15 minutes or so and adding additional water, 2 or 3 tablespoons at a time if the pot seems dry—until the beans are tender and the flavors are fully blend-ed, about 60 minutes (up to 90 if start-ing with soaked dried beans instead of fresh).
• 3. While the beans cook, wash and dry the greens. Peel and mince the shallot. Put the shallot in a large salad bowl with the vinegar and salt; let sit 10 minutes. Whisk in the oil and mustard. Plop the greens on top and set aside; toss to coat the greens evenly with the dress-ing just before serving.
• Season the beans to taste with plenty of black pepper. Serve the beans warm or at room temperature, drizzled with a generous dose of fruity extra-virgin olive oil and topped with the salad.

Notes

This recipe is from our fall ebook. It's a free download when you subscribe to our newsletter.

Photos: Erin Scott

Nutrition

Serving: 6g | Calories: 361kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 298mg | Potassium: 675mg | Fiber: 16g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 241IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 88mg | Iron: 4mg

Did you make this recipe?tag @edible.communities or tag #ediblecommunities!