Butter beans
Like most pulses, butter beans are brilliant at absorbing other flavours such as herbs, spices, tomatoes and onions; low in fat they are a valuable source of protein and fibre; in parts of the Mediterranean butter beans are known as judion beans or gigantes.
These are large, flat beans, cream in colour.
Boiled on their own (as I remember them at school) they do tend to be dull; but they make a good thick soup, and are useful if haricot beans are unavailable as they respond well to a well-flavoured vinaigrette dressing with lots of chopped shallots and parsley strewn over.
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