Royal Corona Beans

“A big ole bean that cooks up creamy-dreamy. Overcook them a little — there, I said it.”

“I was inspired by a reel that I saw and cannot find again, but basically: white beans made like they are spaghetti alla Nerano (kinda). I used: Rancho Gordo Royal Corona Beans (linked here) Two summer squash A bunch of olive oil Two cloves of garlic A little red pepper flake Knob of butter A splash of vermouth (needed to deglaze) Grated Parmesan Basil Lemon zest Here is what I did: Soaked half a pound of beans. Sliced two summer squash on the mandoline. Cooked the beans. During the last 10-15 minutes of the beans cooking, I fried the summer squash in my big sauté pan with enough olive oil to cover. (Don't worry, oil is saved.) While it fried, I minced my garlic. When the summer squash was really golden, I used my little frying scooper thing to put it on a paper towel-lined plate and salted immediately. I drained the olive oil for later and added a couple tablespoons back into the pan. I drained the beans while still a little al dente and saved all the liquid (about two cups for me). I briefly fried the garlic and Aleppo pepper, and then I added half the summer squash into the pan with a little bean water. I mashed that all up until it became jammy. Then I added the beans to the pan with the rest of the bean water and a knob of butter. I cooked these on medium heat until the liquid was gone. I then had to deglaze, which I didn't intend to and used a little vermouth. You might be able to avoid this. Off the heat, I tossed the beans and zucchini mix with the rest of the fried zucchini, basil, and some grated Parmesan (amount: leftover from what my boyfriend grated on Monday, I don't know, a couple tablespoons). Then I popped it in a bowl and zested some lemon on top. This is certainly not a traditional alla Nerano preparation, even if it was spaghetti and not white beans, but it is really really good. I would not use canned beans here because I think they would collapse, and I like having the intact bean.”