Braised Romano Beans Have Me Dreaming of Italy

I’d been doing pretty good with using up our latest CSA share. At least that’s what I thought until I realized we still had a whole bag of what I have learned are Romano beans, aka Italian green beans, which resemble green beans except they are longer, wider and flat like sugar snap peas.

Photo from Smitten Kitchen.

I didn’t have time to pose a “What do I do with this?” question to my Cooking Away My CSA Google group, so I just did a few quick searches and opted for this recipe for Braised Romano Beans from Smitten Kitchen, largely because I tasted the beans raw and thought a long, slow simmer would be best.

Indeed, the slow cooking in a bunch of flavors I love – baby CSA carrots and red onions, backyard tomatoes and rosemary from my porch pots – turned out just right.

I also picked the recipe because I had all the ingredients – though I did swap a purple bell pepper for the celery, which I hardly ever have on hand.

I’d like to say my recipe turned out as picture perfect as the one photographed at Smitten Kitchen. But, not so much. It’s probably a good thing I couldn’t find my camera.

Because I had a burst of energy after feeling rotten most of the day, I went ahead and made the braised beans in advance. They’re planned as a side dish for tomorrow night’s Parmesan chicken. Now to find a good bread, maybe some wine and stories from the old country.