Working with Dried Legumes

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Beans were first imported to Italy from the Spanish colonies in the Americas during the 1500s. Today, a great many varieties are grown throughout the country and play a prominent role in Italian cuisine. Beans are served as contorni or as antipasti (puréed, for example, for crostini, or in salads), and are cooked into hearty soups.

Techniques illustrated below are used wherever cooked legumes are called for throughout the book.