A different type of beans

These are neither dried nor green beans - they are something in between! You should remove the beans from the shells and boil them for a considerably shorter period of time than you would dried beans. In particular, these should not be soaked. The result is a butter-smooth bean that makes an unbelievable soup. We would bet that Italians use these beans in their gastronomy as well - it is not hard to imagine a pasta al sugo di fagioli made with these little beauties. They are quite easy to spot during this time of the year in the markets, and are quite beautiful as well: