This Week's Share-Garlic and Romano Beans

This week's share is very similar to last weeks, with the addition of garlic bulbs. This will be the last week for the fresh shelling beans and one of the last weeks for green beans. In honor of the green beans you have been getting I wanted to do a final push for the often picked over roma or romano bean (my grandmother's personal favorite, and she is not even Italian). See recipe below from the Boston Globe.

This Week's Share Includes:
A few teeny tiny tomatoes (more on the lack of tomatoes in a future post)
Green Beans
Fresh Shelling Beans
Basil
Summer Squash--mainly patti pans
Sweet Peppers
Hot Peppers
Fingerling Potatoes
Cut your own Zinnias

Garlic Romano Beans (from the boston globe)
Serves 4
Romano beans, if you don't already know them, are meatier than green beans, and a favorite among Italian cooks. As such, they're also known as Italian green beans, Italian string beans, Italian flat beans, and pole beans. They're flat and broad (about 1 inch wide), tender, and sweet. They're available through the end of September. To prepare the beans, trim them and cut them on a diagonal into bite-size pieces, then simmer them in boiling water to serve as a side dish. You can also leave them whole and roast them, which intensifies their flavor and produces slightly charred beans that are addictive. They'll become your new favorite snack.

1 pound romano beans, stem ends trimmed
1/4 cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic, smashed
3 sprigs of fresh thyme, broken in half
Salt and pepper, to taste
1. Set oven at 450 degrees.

2. On a large rimmed baking sheet, toss the whole beans with the oil, garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper. Spread the beans into a single layer.

3. Roast for 15 to 20 minutes, turning once, or until the beans are tender and browned. Serve warm or at room temperature. Rachel Travers

© Copyright 2008 Globe Newspaper Company.