These beans look so beautiful in their pods, it seems a shame to eat them. If you wish to be cruel and do so, first you will need to peel them.
fresh borlotti beans
The next step is to boil or steam them until they are tender but not mushy. Then you can dress them with oil, parsley, chilli or whatever takes your fancy.
peeled beans
cooked beans
They don’t look so great when they are cooked, but once you add some olive oil, parsley, spring onion, chopped tomato and chilli if you wish, they look good again and they taste delicous.
things to add to your beans
Chop parsley, spring onion, chilli and tomatoes and add to beans with olive oil and salt and pepper. Serve as a side dish or with crusty bread. Yum!
It is quite common to see fresh borlotti and broad beans in Italy when the season is right. Fortunately it is becoming easier to find these things here in Australia.