Aquila Bean of Pignone
Features: Variety of climbing bean, with a delicate taste and very digestible. It is multicolored, white and veined. It is a bean with the "eye": it is characterized by a grey spot with dark streaks at the germinative juncture. The seed, round and slightly squashed, is about 1.5cm long. It is an "old" ecotype growing only in the territory of Pignone.
Cultivation: It is cultivated in alluvial soils, and needs to be watered at least three times a week during its vegetative cycle. After the harvesting, the best pods are selected and preserved for the sowing and harvesting of the following year. Ripening is completed by drying the beans on airy and sunny terraces. The dried beans are stored in airtight containers, in dark and cool places.
Production Area: Pignone (La Spezia)
Curiosities: Aquila bean - also known locally as "black-eyed bean" for its characteristic spot - is considered an autochthonous ecotype. Therefore, it was not imported from America. It was already known by the Romans, who used it in their diet. Fast-cooking and with a delicate taste, it is ideal both green and dry.
Recipe: It does not need soaking before cooking. It is enough to rinse it.
