Russ Parsons's Braised Romano Beans with Cherry Tomatoes

Summertime and the days are chilly. We've had a few surprisingly breezy days here, replete with gray skies and an uncomfortable little wind. It was a treat, at first, to wear a cozy sweatshirt while drinking hot tea in the morning, a pleasing taste of the crisp September days to come. Walking down 6th Avenue on Saturday, I was practically swept sideways by the veritable gale making its way through Lower Manhattan. Goose bumps littered my skin and it all felt fresh and thrilling. But by Sunday, the chill had stuck around too long. I found myself curled up on the couch (yes, the situation has been resolved!), feet tucked under seeking warmth, while paging through cookbooks in a stab at coziness (and regretting having dumped various half-finished sacks of flours in the move. Baking seems a rather sensible pursuit again.).

With a bag of velvety-skinned Romano beans in the fridge and after our great braised zucchini success, it was only a matter of time before I got around to the other recipe in that article. Could I have found a better time to braise vegetables to shortly before the point of disintegration than a prematurely dark, cold evening in August? Our work on the apartment for the weekend was over, including a mind-numbing trip to Home Depot (tell me, is there anyone else out there that finds this place soul-sucking in the worst way? I think I would rather watch paint dry than find myself in the Hardware Nuts and Bolts lane again, staring blankly at row upon row of little plastic baggies full of screws of differing sizes, while Ben mutters things under his breath and workshoe-clad men stomp about us looking Busy and Serious and Also A Little Bit Pissed Off while sorting through the incomprehensible amount of fiddly bits littering the aisles. Pardon the sexual stereotyping, but is the desperate boredom that I felt in Aisle Fourteen how men feel at Sephora?) and we had gotten the stereo working, so there was music in the air and a sense of accomplishment, too.

I got diced onions in the pan with some olive oil (I eschewed the pancetta, because Ben made turkey bacon for breakfast yesterday morning and nine hours later, the stench aroma of it still hung in the air, depleting me of any desire for pork products, fake or otherwise, for the foreseeable future), then threw in the sectioned beans and sliced garlic and water. As the beans simmered on the stove and the sky grew darker, I sat on the couch in the very spot where my father taught me how to read 24 years ago (the couch seems smaller, yet is just as comfortable as I remember) and looked around at the marvel that is cohabitation.

Forgive me, as I know I'm getting repetitive and I promise to stop soon with all my moon-eyed pronouncements on the subject, but somewhere in the last three weeks, during the arguing and the furniture-moving and the Ikea-tripping and the painstaking artwork-hanging, we found ourselves a home. A peaceful, cozy, beautiful home. One that we can't wait to come back to at the end of the day and one that pains us to leave it in first thing in the morning. One that makes us feel rich with happiness. And that warms us to the bone. One where the smell of cooking reminds me of my childhood and yet fills me with the thrill of things to come. One where our two lives are coming together so well that it fills us both with unexpected delight. It's just all so much better than I had even imagined.

So bring it on, August, with your cold Sundays and gray Mondays. We're ready.

And, oh yeah, the beans. Well, is it any surprise that they were delicious? I didn't think so. The barely-cooked tomatoes were like little pops of candy here and there. Sometimes the skin felt a little tough beneath my teeth, but mostly I didn't care, especially because they provided such a nice contrast to the soft, pale beans that had become practically creamy in the braise. I usually stew Romanos in a chunky tomato sauce, which is delicious in its own right (Ben remarked upon first eating that dish that it tasted like my family, which I thought was adorable until I typed it here and realized it sounds like Ben regularly cannibalizes us, which, obviously, he doesn't. Urgh.), but this new method takes the cake.

Braised Romano Beans with Cherry Tomatoes
Serves 4 as a side dish

1/4 pound pancetta, in 1 slice about  1/2 -inch thick
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/4 cups chopped onions, about 1 medium
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 1/2 pounds Romano beans, stems removed and cut into bite-sized pieces
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 pound cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1 tablespoon minced fresh basil

1. Unroll the pancetta and cut it into pieces about one-half-inch long. Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the pancetta and cook until the meat is well-browned and has rendered much of its fat, about 8 minutes.

2. Pour off all but about 2 tablespoons of the fat, return the pan to the heat and add the onions. Cook until the onions are tender, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and the Romano beans and stir them with the onions and pancetta. Add the salt and three-fourths cup water and reduce the heat to medium.

3. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the beans are silky in texture and extremely flavorful, about 45 minutes. If the mixture begins to cook dry, add a little more water.

4. When the beans are cooked, remove the lid and cook long enough to evaporate most of the remaining water, about 5 minutes.

5. Reduce the heat to low and add the cherry tomatoes. Cook until they are warmed through. Serve either warm or at room temperature, first stirring in the basil and tasting and correcting the seasoning.

Comments

[theysaysilenceisgold]

I think I'll be making this sometime this week when I'm on my own with no one to keep me warm. Might make it easier to accept that summer is about to hand over the keys to autumn.

[Tana]

Funny: last night I wrote about Romano beans with garlic and cherry tomatoes being "the star of the show" for dinner at our house. My technique was nothing as elaborate as this: I just steamed them through and through, and tossed with garlic sautéed in a little butter and olive oil with the cherry tomatoes. I cooked that until the tomatoes wilted a bit but didn't get collapsed and mushy.

We are definitely growing Romanos in our garden next year: they've become my favorite green bean.

And congrats on the new home!

[Jessika]

Home Depot like stores are right up there with Ikea on a Saturday.

[ann]

I like Home Depot, I think mainly because it's pure fuel for my imagination. I love to stroll the aisles trying to look at all the things in a different way... like the time I needed a new spice rack but refused to buy a premade one. I found inspiration in some little boxes that were supposed to be used for storing nuts & bolts and an aluminum tray. But yes, that kind of joy can only last for so long and then ennui and boredom set in and I think you're 100% right, I think that is exactly how men feel at Sephora, or on the shoe floor at Barney's. funny stuff.
I feel like I brought San Fran home with me. This weather is bizzaro.

[Maria Bonn]

I have to come out from lurking not to comment on the food (which I always really enjoy reading about -- and I made the stuffed tomatoes last week and boy were they good and boy am I making them like twenty more times before the season is over, but anyway . . ) but to second the Home Depot rant. I live in a house where the only gendered division of labor is dealing with dead mice (his) and making sandwiches for the work week (mine) but good god, we can't be more boy and girl then when we're in Home Depot. I think I had a son just so I could send him with my husband to Home Dept so I wouldn't have to go. And sure enough, at two, he's already happy to spend hours looking at tools.

Oh, the beans look good too.

[Nosheteria]

Braising and cohabitation, sounds alright to me!

[Lydia]

I agree -- there is way too much testosterone wandering the aisles at Home Depot. Sounds like you are having so much fun building your nest, though. Love the sound of this recipe.

[Tea]

"One that makes us feel rich with happiness. And that warms us to the bone."

How beautiful--the words and the concept--and how happy I am for you that you've found it!

It rained all day in Seattle, I'm wearing long sleeves, long pants, and am curled on the couch under a blanket. Please don't tell me summer is over completely... (sigh).

[Luisa]

Jessika - except, I rather enjoy Ikea. I mean, I wouldn't want to spend time there if I didn't HAVE to, but it doesn't make me want to pluck my eyelashes out, one by one, like Home Depot ;)

Ann - you are so resourceful! I love this spice idea. I think the problem is that I'm just fundamentally uncreative like that. I am hating this weather, by the way. If only I could stay at home on my couch, reading all day, it might be okay.

Maria - so glad you liked those tomatoes! The son tip sounds like a good one ;)

Tea - I'm praaaaaaying it's not.

[Julie]

No, no don't stop with telling us how happy you are! I know you have lots of readers who are delighting in your delight. I know I am.