Gnocchi with borlotti beans

There is one thing I miss having coming back home from Tuscany – well, actually two things – gnocchi and borlotti (or, as some might call them, cranberry) beans. Freshly picked, they need just 10 minutes in hot water and a few more with oil to blow my mind, and after couple of dinners, not just mine, since all of us were hooked on these babies. All you need is a simple recipe that requires a visit to the Cecina Tuesday morning market, kids who can shell them, and someone who can cook. There is no problem with eating afterwards, that I can assure you. 

Ingredients

240 g gnocchi
180 g borlotti beans (shelled)
20 g finely sliced Grana Padano
½ zest of Amalfi lemons, finely grated
sea salt to taste
freshly ground pepper to taste

For tomato oil:
30 ml extra virgin olive oil
300 g ripe tomatoes, cut into pieces
4 garlic cloves, cut thinly
1 rosemary sprig
3 sage leaves

Prepare

Pour the oil into a pan and add garlic, rosemary, and sage. On low heat, sauté them for 10 minutes until they are tender. Add tomatoes and sauté on medium/high heat for 10 more minutes until the liquid from tomatoes has evaporated and there is just oil and shiny chunks of tomato (not sauce but more like pieces). Turn off the heat and let rest while you make the gnocchi and beans. 

Heat the water until it boils. Add salt and then the beans. Boil until tender. Strain, saving the water, or drain them and boil one more kettle of water. Add the beans to the tomatoes and mix. Boil gnocchi until they are ready and drain. Add them to the beans and mix. Serve and sprinkle with freshly grated parmesan and pepper. 

Location: Ot Homes