Welcome to the start of Bean Month. For the next 5 weeks you'll receive a message every Sunday that focuses on one specific bean we grow, it's history, growing information, and recipes to help you cook and consume a pound of those beans throughout the week. It's a way to cook some beans, eat good food, and build some community in the process. It's also really important to stay well fed and nourished during dark times.
This week we're starting with the Zolfini beans - a versatile Italian white bean.
If you cook any of these recipes, let us know how they go and what you think of them. We love seeing pictures of what you make and how you're interacting with our chiles and beans.
Zolfini Beans : The Italian Bean of Resistance
Zolfini beans are a Slow Food Ark of Taste heirloom Italian bean from the Arezzo province of Tuscany. These small beans get their name from their sulphury yellow hue - zolfo is Italian for sulphur.
Zolfini beans have been used as a symbol of resistance to the globalization and industrialization of the food system. The beans played a role against neoliberal bureaucrats during the 1999 Battle in Seattle as they were used to express “a need to protect genetic heritage and regionalized biodiversity against the onslaught of global free trade and cultural hegemony." (Uprising Organics)
"In 1999, Paolo De Castro, Italian minister of Agriculture, waved a small bag of Zolfini beans in front of the World Trade Organization bureaucrats in Seattle. He wanted to focus attention on a threatened and endangered legacy, culture and tradition. Those were legendary beans... This tiny pulse bears a huge responsibility, thus becoming the flagship of the battle against the heartless products of the food corporations: the beans from La Penna versus plastic McDonald’s burgers. An unequal battle, but fruitful nevertheless.”
Excerpt from Viaggio in Toscana: Alla scoperta dei prodotti tipici by Andrea Semplici
Excerpt from Viaggio in Toscana: Alla scoperta dei prodotti tipici by Andrea Semplici
Not only are they a fitting bean for the current state of our food system, Zolfini beans are delicious. They have incredibly thin skins that seem to disappear when cooking and hold their shape even when cooked for extended periods of time. Traditionally they are prepared with garlic, sage, and a big glug of olive oil.
Growing Zolfini Beans
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In 2025, Sammy Tookey of Tookey Farms in Healdsburg, CA grew a half acre of these beans for us and we also grew them ourselves. Zolfini beans are a productive bush bean, meaning they grow like bushes close to the ground (compared to pole beans that need something to climb up). We harvested these beans by hand (literally just bending down and pulling them up from their roots) on September 5th at our farm and September 19 at Tookey Farms and threshed them a few days later. Between the two farms we produced 1,500 pounds of Zolfini beans.
For some cross-pollination reason, the beans from Tookey Farms had a lot of pods that were filled with dark grey beans with light grey streaks. I spent a lot of time hand sorting around 10 pounds of these field cross grey beans from 1100 pounds of white beans. It was a very slow process.
During the summer and fall season, you can find Sammy's produce at his farm stand off Westside Road in Healdsburg and at the Healdsburg Farmers Market, Farmer's Lane market in Santa Rosa, and Sunday market in Sebastopol.
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How to Cook Zolfini Beans
You can use Zolfini beans in any recipe that calls for white beans, cannellini beans, butter beans (which are lima beans, folks!), or navy beans. If you have our Sorana beans on hand, you can use those as well. Just know that they will break down a bit more than Zolfini beans if you have them on the stove for an extended period of time. Zolfini beans are a great addition to soups since they keep their shape and just get creamier with time. White bean, sausage, and kale soup would be great with these as well as our recipe for Minestrone Soup.
I’m sure most of you have favorite ways that you use white beans so I tried to pull together recipes that weren’t so classic for the humble white bean. Here’s 8 recipes that use Zolfini beans that you might not expect.
For recipe conversions, 1 can of white beans is about 1.5 cups of cooked beans. 1 pound of dry beans equals about 6 cups of cooked beans.
Dessert
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Bean Pie: When I lived in Philly, I regularly drove past guys selling Bean Pie’s at stop lights on my commute to West Philly and I’m kicking myself for never trying one. Don’t scoff at this sweet bean pie.
It’s a silky cinnamon custard pie with a stunning history from the Nation of Islam, Black Power, and revolution. Distinct from traditional Black foodways that were rooted in the “slave diet” (like sweet potato pie, collard green, and pork), the Nation of Islam promoted a vegetarian diet rich with Navy Beans. [For more history, read this article from Taste: The Radical Pie That Fueled a Nation.] And while Zolfini beans are not Navy beans, both beans have been used as symbols of revolution and overcoming oppression. I figured it a worthy substitute for the Bean Pie.
The pie was simple to make and came out better than I expected. It’s flavored with cinnamon and nutmeg, giving it a rich wintery vibe. The filling was a little more than my pie crust could accommodate so I cooked the extra filling in 2 small ramekins and shared them with gluten free friends. Everyone I shared this with was surprised by how much they enjoyed it and one said she would be making it again this week. Beans needed: 1.5 cups cooked / 1/4 pound dry
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Lunch
Italian Grinder Bean Salad: I like hearty salads I can make on Sunday that I can eat for the next few days and won’t get weird. Beans are a helpful ingredient for these kinds of lunches. For this recipe, I used just Zolfini beans in place of the cannelini and chickpeas, I swapped in chopped arugula for the Italian parsley based on my personal preference, and added a bit more Calabrian Chile Flake than it called for. Eat it with a piece of crusty bread. Beans needed: 3 cups cooked / 1/2 pound dry
Mediterranean Tuna and White Bean Salad with Pesto Vinaigrette: Another lunchy bean salad, the addition of tuna gives this one even more oomph. It’s simple ingredient list makes the prep easy and a good option for the winter when radicchio is in season. Beans needed: 3 cups cooked / 1/2 pound dry
Side Dish
Pesto Bean Salad: This was my go to side dish over the summer and helped me work through the thriving basil in our garden (which is now frozen as pesto). Take a few cups of cooked Zolfini or Sorana beans and mix them in a bowl with as much prepared pesto as you’d like. Add a glug of olive oil, chopped tomato, and finish with chile flakes. Use your instincts for how much of each ingredient to add. In the winter, pair it alongside a roasted chicken or grilled steak. Beans needed: A few cups cooked
Dinner
Pasta e Fagioli: I grew up eating Pasta e Fagioli at my grandparents house but had not made it until a few days ago. I appreciate this Serious Eats recipe for its reliance on the superior flavor of dry beans over canned and how you don't need to add a ton of other ingredients to make the dish taste good. While there are many different variations of Pasta e Fagioli, this Tuscan version is quite simple. The beans are cooked with onion, celery, garlic, and carrot that you are supposed to strain out at the end. I didn't quite get all the onion out and ended up blending some with the beans and it tasted great. I opted for rosemary over sage after it was the only remaining garden herb after a hard frost. The recipe makes a lot of food and could easily be halved or quartered. Beans needed: 1 pound dry
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Marry Me Beans: There’s about a thousand different recipes for “Marry me (insert protein here)” after the dish went viral on TikTok. This recipe from our friends at Foodocracy cooks up quick and has a great flavor. The recipe calls for a full pound of beans and I recommend cutting the whole recipe in half unless you want a lot of leftovers (we made the full recipe and it yielded about 8 servings). You’ll want to add more liquid to the pan when you reheat it. I would also add more chile flakes than it calls for. Serve with crusty bread and an arugula salad. Beans needed: 1 pound dry
 Community Pick from Margie G - Creamy Spicy Tomato Beans and Greens: A NYT Cooking favorite, this recipe has over 11k 5 star reviews. It is very similar to Marry Me Beans, but is a bit richer with the addition of tomato paste. It also puts the arugula salad on top of the finished dish - something that was really fun to eat. You’ll need a NYT cooking subscription to access the recipe. Beans needed: 3 cups cooked / 1/2 pound dry
Community Pick from Caitlin S - Lemony Brothy Beans: “I love the Zolfini beans and this is what I make the most. I’m not a recipe person, my cooking style is very much based on feel and vibes, so these directions feel very approximate, which is the way it goes with so many beans. These are a riff on Alison Roman’s Brothy Beans that has evolved over the years in my kitchen.” Beans needed: 1/2 pound dry
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Ingredients
- ½ pound Zolfini or Sorana beans, sorted and rinsed
- olive oil
- medium yellow onion, chopped
- pancetta, diced (optional - ¼ to ½ cup)
- garlic, diced
- 1 small leek, sliced down the middle and then cut into half moons and washed
- Calabrian Chile Flakes
- Herby bundle tied in butchers twine with 2 Bay leaves, Thyme, and other herbs (recommend avoiding rosemary as its flavor can be too strong)
- Cooking liquid - Caitlin usually uses Chicken Better than Bouillon to control the strength of the flavor, but you can also use half water/half stock. Using all stock could make the beans too salty.
- 1-2 lemons, zested and juiced
In a large dutch oven over medium heat, add about ¼ cup of olive oil and chopped onion (and pancetta, if using) and saute until soft. Once the pancetta has rendered and the onions are softer (but not browning), add the leek, garlic, and some salt. Continue to cook until the leeks and onions are soft, adjusting the heat so they don’t burn. Add more olive oil as necessary. Once the alliums are ready, sprinkle in Calabrian chile flakes.
Add the beans and enough of your desired cooking liquid to cover the beans by a few inches. These are brothy beans and the liquid will reduce, so you’ll want to add what looks like too much liquid in the beginning. Add the herb bundle and bring to a gentle boil and cook the beans for half an hour, skimming any proteins that rise to the top.
After 30 minutes, turn down the heat, cover with the lid ajar to leave some space for the beans to breathe, and simmer until they are done, stirring occasionally and topping off the water if needed. Cooking time could take anywhere from 2-4 hours depending on how fresh your beans are. Add more liquid based on how brothy you want your beans at the end. Caitlin usually aims for at least one inch of broth over the level of cooked beans when they are fully cooked.
When the beans are fully cooked, adjust salt level if necessary. Add the zest of at least 1 lemon and its juice. Add another if you’d like more tang. Serve in a bowl with plenty of the delicious broth and a drizzle of nice olive oil to finish.
