Corona Bean and Sweet Potato Fagioli

Fagioli is a thick Italian bean soup generally made with cannellini beans or borlotti beans, olive oil, garlic, onions, spices, stewed tomato, or tomato paste. This rendition substitutes Corona beans from Italy for the traditional beans. Corona beans are large, very meaty, and filling. The addition of sweet potatoes makes this more of a stew than a soup. Years ago, I purchased a bag of Corona Beans from Amazon as they are not readily available in most grocery stores. I cooked half of the beans and planted the other half in my garden, giving me all the beans I could possibly eat! A good substitute easily found are Spanish Gigante beans. However, I do not recommend lima beans for this recipe. Once you have tried these beans, you may also choose to plant them for an ever-abundant supply!

 6 entrée servings

INGREDIENTS:

BEANS:

1 cup Corona beans or giant white beans

1 ½ quarts filtered water

SOUP:

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

¼ cup pancetta, small diced (about 1 ½ ounces)

1 cup onions, small diced

½ cup carrots, small diced

½ cup celery, small diced

2 large cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons double concentrated tomato paste

1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes in juice (with basil and garlic or not)

1 quart chicken stock or broth

½ teaspoon dried sage

½ teaspoon dried oregano

½ teaspoon dried basil

½ teaspoon fresh rosemary, minced

1 to 2 pieces of Parmigiano Reggiano rind

2 small sweet potato and/or yams (about 1 pound), peeled, medium diced (hold in water to prevent discoloration until ready to cook)

FINISHING:

2 cloves garlic, peeled

2 tablespoons pine nuts

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

6 tablespoons Parmigiano Reggiano, finely grated

2 tablespoons basil or Italian parsley leaves, chopped

DIRECTIONS:

1.     Pick over the beans, wash, and soak overnight in double the amount of filtered water in the refrigerator. Drain the beans and place them in a large saucepan with two quarts of filtered water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about an hour and fifteen minutes until beans are almost tender. They will sink to the bottom of the pan when nearly done. Drain.

2.     While beans are simmering, begin the stew in a non-reactive Dutch oven by heating two tablespoons oil. When the oil gently ripples, add the pancetta and cook until lightly browned. Add the onions, carrots, celery, and minced garlic. Sauté over medium heat until translucent.

3.     Add the tomato paste, diced tomatoes, chicken stock, sage, oregano, basil, rosemary, and Parmigiano Reggiano rind to the vegetables. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Add the cooked Corona beans and simmer for thirty minutes.

4.     In the meantime, purée two garlic cloves, pine nuts, and olive oil in a small food processor or a mortar and pestle.

5.     Add the sweet potatoes and/or yams to the soup and simmer for an additional twenty-five to thirty minutes until tender. Stir in the pine nut purée—season with sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste.

6.     Serve piping hot, topping each bowl with basil or parsley, and grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.