Fagiolini Sfiziosi (Green Beans Dressed in Breadcrumbs)
Fagiolini sfiziosi, or fagiulini spilusieddi in dialect, can be translated as beans that are either appetising, satiating, frivolous or fanciful – or perhaps all of these things. I came across this simple side dish bursting with fresh flavours during my very first visit to Puglia one early summer. As we drove from one end of Puglia to the other, I was enthralled at the sight of field after field of luscious vegetable patches growing in deep-red soil, not to mention the produce markets and menus showcasing plentiful and cheap sun-ripened vegetables, including things I had never seen before. Finally, I understood exactly why Puglia is often referred to as the vegetable patch of Italy.
Ingredients 7
400 g green beans, string or round beans
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
4 spring onions (scallions), white part only, thinly sliced
20 g dry breadcrumbs
Handful flat-leaf parsley leaves (italian parsley leaves), chopped
Handful mint leaves, chopped or torn
1 lemon juice
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Method 4
Rinse, dry and cut off the tops of the (if they are very long, you can cut them in half too). Bring a saucepan of salted water to the boil and cook the beans for a few minutes, or until they are still bright green and ‘al dente’ or with a slight bite to them.
In the meantime, prepare a bowl full of iced water. Drain the , then immediately transfer them to the iced water to cool them down quickly and stop the cooking process. Set aside to dry on clean tea towels (dish towels).
Meanwhile, heat the in a pan over a low–medium heat and cook the sliced until softened and slightly golden. Add the , season with salt and pepper, and continue cooking for a few minutes, or until the crumbs are golden and crisp, then remove from the heat.
In a bowl, toss together the drained , the breadcrumb mixture, , and an extra drizzle of . You can serve this dish immediately while warm, but I also like it at room temperature.
Emiko Davies' tips
You can make it in advance and, when the flavours have had time to get to know each other, it's all the better for it.
