Royal Corona Beans Smothered in Pesto Sauce. ~. Rancho Gordo

                   

Recipe: Royal Coronas Smothered in Pesto Sauce

This dish, with a sharp salad and great bread, would make a perfect last hurrah for summer. You can toss cooked, warm white heirloom beans with your favorite pesto You can toss cooked, warm white heirloom beans with your favorite pesto recipe. This is ours, based on a lot of different sources, but probably most influenced by Marcella Hazan of The NY Times Recipe: Royal Coronas Smothered in Pesto Sauce
Ingredients:
2 garlic cloves
3 tablespoons toasted pine nuts (pecans or walnuts work, too)
About 2 cups tightly packed basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
2 tablespoons softened butter
Freshly ground pepper
Fresh lemon juice to taste (optional)
2 to 4 cups cooked Rancho Gordo Royal Corona beans (or other white beans), warmed slightly
Red chile flakes, for serving (optional). Serves 2 to 4
Directions:
Make the pesto: Put the garlic and pine nuts in a food processor and pulse until chopped. Add the basil and salt and blend until combined. With the motor running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil, and process until blended. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the cheese and butter. Season to taste with pepper and lemon juice (if desired).

Divide the warm beans among bowls and stir in a spoonful of pesto to each serving. Add bean broth as desired. Sprinkle with chile flakes (if desired) and more cheese. Save any remaining pesto for another use.

 

Royal Corona BeanEnormous, thick-skinned runner beans with a surprisingly creamy interior. One of our all-time best sellers, it's a versatile giant that works in all kinds of cuisines. A true pantry staple.
A hand-harvested crop straight from Europe into your pantry. Giant, fat, white runner beans that are creamier and more luxurious than Greek and Spanish gigandes and a little denser than traditional Italian coronas. Royal Corona beans can replace any white bean, but be prepared to be astounded by how big they are when cooked. Fully cooked, they can be a little starchy but you can also keep cooking until they reach the creamy point.
This is our first venture outside of the Americas (although this bean's origins are clearly in Mexico) and we are happy to offer you this giant legume, created in Mesoamerica, bred in Italy, and grown in Poland.
Martha Rose Shulman praised them in the New York Times: "Royal Coronas are large white European runner beans that are similar to Greek gigandes but bigger, richer and sturdier. They are about twice the size of a lima bean and, unlike many other large white beans, the skin doesn’t slip off when you soak them."