The following recipe is an original creation, which is not to say that someone else has not already done this, but rather that I was messing around in the kitchen one day and made it up.

1 lb. dried Italian butter beans.

You could, I suppose, substitute another bean, and if I were going to substitute, I'd go for Romanos or cranberry beans. You do need to use dry beans here for two reasons. First, when you can get fresh beans, you do not want to have very many other things in the pot with them since the whole point of going to all that work getting them and shelling them is to enjoy their fresh flavor. Second, if you used fresh beans, there would not be enough cooking time for the tomato reduction.

Either soak the beans overnight or use Julia's technique: To the beans add 10 c. water and bring to a boil. Boil uncovered for two minutes, cover, and let sit for an hour. Drain the soaking water, as this makes the beans more digestible. As Julia says, if you're concerned about the minimal nutrient loss, "simply eat a minimally larger serving." Add enough fresh water to cover the beans well. You do not want a lot of extra water at this point.

1 ½ lbs. fresh tomatoes.

Ideally, you'll have access to heirlooms like the Brandywine and the Purple Cherokee that are "meaty" and don't reduce to almost nothing when cooked down. Romas are an acceptable second choice and are more widely available. Early Girls, even though delicious if dry farmed, are just too watery. You could throw in enough tomatoes to turn this dish into Red Spaghetti Sauce with Beans, but I find that 1 ½ pounds yields a dish sufficiently tomatoey and would not go higher than this amount.

1 lb. onion.

This recipe calls for a full-flavored onion. The Vidalias and Walla-wallas would be wasted here. Go ahead and chop the onion, but you do not need to get all compulsive about it as the onion is going to disappear during the cooking.

1 head garlic.

You do not need to be gentle when you're peeling the cloves, as the garlic, like the onion, disappears.

Oregano.

We all know what just the right amount of oregano is, just as we all know that fresh is better than dried. Then again, the Saturday after I'd first made this dish, I told Mrs. Iacopi about it, and when I got to the oregano, she interrupted and told me to use sage, fresh only. Well, I never heard of using sage in beans, but then I should probably defer to Mrs. Iacopi's judgment. After all, when her ancestors were doing stuff like writing the Aeneid, building gigantic aqueducts, and perishing of surfeits of nightingales' tongues, mine were dancing around campfires with their faces painted blue. (OK, the punch line is from Steinbeck, and I've been waiting for years to use it.)

Pepper.

There are many wonderful peppers out there. Use just the right amount of your favorite.

Salt.

I subscribe to the urban legend that beans should not be salted until they are nearing doneness. Frankly, I think it's probably hogwash, but I'm a creature of habit.

1 bunch spinach (optional).

This is a better addition than it might seem. Go ahead and try it. Note that I say "1 bunch" rather than "a bunch." There's a big difference. The standard bunch is made of platinum and is kept in a temperature-controlled vault in Washington, D.C. The standard metric bunch is also made of platinum, but it is slightly larger and is kept in Paris. Wash your bunch of spinach well, stem it, and chop it up thoroughly. We're aiming at green flecks here rather than green strings.

TECHNIQUE:

To the beans just covered with water add all the above ingredients except possibly the salt. Bring to a simmer, cover, and simmer for thirty minutes. Uncover and continue to simmer until the beans are finally tender and the liquid has reduced to a fairly thick sauce. This will take another two to two and a half hours because these are big, tough beans. You will probably need to add small amounts of water toward the end, but remember that what you're going for is not a bean soup but rather beans in a thick, easy-to-scorch sauce composed of cooked down tomato, onion, garlic, and spinach.