Brothy Basil Beans

One thing I’ve learned about beans is that some types fall apart when they’re cooked no matter what you do. It’s not your fault! Some beans have very thin, delicate skins and a fine texture. On the other side of the spectrum are chubby white beans, like gigante, Tarbais, and baby limas. They are naturally predisposed to stay intact on the outside and get super creamy inside, and that’s desirable here. As they cook, they’ll absorb the flavor of the basil in the cooking liquid. But listen—if your beans fall apart, it won’t ruin the dish. The broth might be a little thicker—no big deal!

Great

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Step 1

From the Market Dried large white beans Basil Spin It Baby lima beans, Tarbais beans, cannellini beans, corona beans, or chickpeas can all replace the gigante beans Cilantro or chives can be used instead of basil At Home Salt and pepper Garlic Shallot Olive oil Almonds Lemon Spin It Use unsalted cashews, peanuts, walnuts, hazelnuts, or shelled pistachios instead of the almonds (blanch any of them, too)

Step 2

Place beans in a medium pot and cover with cold water by several inches (if they’re soaked, no need to drain; go ahead and cook the beans in their soaking liquid, adding more water to cover if needed). Add 1 tablespoon salt, 3 garlic cloves, the shallot, a few healthy glugs of oil, and half the basil (including stems). Bring to a boil over high heat, then lower the heat to a very gentle simmer. Cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the beans are extremely tender and creamy but not falling to bits, about 1 hour (unsoaked beans will take longer). If the water level gets low, top it off and adjust heat to keep the simmer extremely mellow.

Step 3

Meanwhile, bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Add the remaining 3 garlic cloves and the almonds and cook until slightly softened, 5 minutes. This will diffuse some of the garlic’s bite and bring out its sweetness, and blanching softens the almonds so they become smooth in the sauce. Transfer to a small plate with a slotted spoon and let cool. Pluck the leaves from the remaining basil (aim for about 1 cup packed). Stir basil into the boiling water and cook until wilted, 1 minute. Transfer basil to the plate with the garlic and almonds and spread it out to cool. Peel garlic and transfer to a food processor. Pinch almond skins to release nuts (kind of like you’re popping an edamame out of the pod); add the almonds to the processor. Finely grate zest of the lemon into processor and pulse until the nuts and garlic are finely chopped, 30 seconds. Squeeze out excess liquid from basil and add it to the processor, along with ¼ cup oil. Blend until the pesto is creamy; taste and season with salt and pepper and blitz again to combine.

Step 4

Pluck out basil stems and shallot from the beans. Serve beans and their broth topped with spoonfuls of pesto.