Purea di Borlotti agli Odori

In the pursuit of certain lusty gratifications for the palate, no ingredient can take you further than beans. I have never known any beans I didn’t like, but cranberry beans are among my favorites. Raw, they are marbled purple and white, but cooked, the color and, surprisingly, the taste are those of chestnuts. The purée from this recipe can be thought of as an earthier, tastier alternative to mashed potatoes. The beans cook, at first, with bay leaves, sage, and whole garlic to become deepl