Yellow Wax Beans Stracotto in Soffritto with Salsa Verde
I think the heart and soul of Italian cooking is coaxing the true flavor out of raw ingredients, and that’s what we do with these beans. Stracotto means “long cooked,” and for this recipe, yellow wax beans, a summer vegetable usually prepared al dente, are simmered long and slow with our deeply caramelized soffritto. You’ll want to make this dish only if you already have soffritto in your refrigerator and when yellow wax beans are in season. You could also use yellow Romano beans.
Recipe information
Yield
serves 4 to 6
Ingredients
salsa verde
Preparation
Step 1
Heat the oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat until it is almost smoking and slides easily in the pan, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the beans, sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon of the salt, and cook for about 2 minutes, until they are slightly browned. Move the beans to create a bare spot in the pan, add the tomato paste to that spot, and cook for 1 minute, stirring, to caramelize. Add the Soffritto and anchovies, and stir to combine the ingredients and to coat the beans with the Soffritto. Reduce the heat to low, season the beans with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and cook for about 2 minutes. Add 1 cup of water to the pan, and simmer the beans until they are very tender, about 20 minutes for wax beans and 30 minutes for Romano beans. If there is still water in the pan, remove the lid, increase the heat to high, and cook until the water evaporates. Serve the beans warm or at room temperature. Transfer the beans to a serving dish, spoon 1/4 cup of salsa verde over them, and serve with the remaining salsa verde on the side.
salsa verde
Step 2
Combine the anchovies, capers, garlic, salt, and half of the olive oil in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade or the jar of a blender. Add half of the parsley, mint, and marjoram leaves and pulse until the herbs are finely chopped. Turn off the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the remaining herbs and the remaining olive oil and purée, stopping as soon as the ingredients form a homogenous paste, and adding more olive oil, if necessary, to obtain a loose, spoonable salsa. (You want to stop the machine as soon as you achieve the desired consistency, as the blade will heat the garlic and give it a bitter flavor. Also, over-processing the salsa verde will incorporate too much air, making it fluffy and also too smooth. I like to see some flecks of herbs in my salsa verde.) Turn the salsa verde out into a bowl and stir in the lemon juice. Taste for seasoning and add more salt or lemon juice if desired. Use the salsa or transfer it to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to two days—any longer and it will lose its pretty green color and vibrant flavor. Bring the salsa to room temperature, stir to recombine the ingredients, and taste again for seasoning before serving.
