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I love leftovers. More often than not I’m eating something made from bits and pieces of stuff I’d cooked earlier in the week. Sometimes I even make extra just so I’ll have leftovers to play with for the next meal. Lately, my surfeit comes from the garden, in this case an abundance of Jimmy Nardello peppers. While climate change is burning the planet, it’s great for growing chiles, and Oregon’s hot weather this year means a lot of peppers from my garden. But don’t worry if you aren’t growing any; you can find Jimmy Nardellos at farmers markets and even some grocery produce sections.
The long, twisty chiles come with an appealing story. Their namesake, the fourth son of immigrants Giuseppe and Angella Nardiello (a Yankee teacher in the Connecticut village where they landed likely changed the name for easier pronunciation) inherited his mother’s love of food, especially the sweet peppers called peperone di Sinese she grew from seed brought from their village in southern Italy. Jimmy kept growing the peppers, and after he donated seed to the Seed Savers Exchange, they gave the peppers his name.
I always have cooked beans in the refrigerator, and when I was putting away the remnants of a big batch of roasted Jimmys I could see the beginnings of the next meal. That same summer heat means I have ripe tomatoes, too, and a friend had recently served a simple pasta tossed with raw grated tomato. So the next leftover meal would be beans, peppers, and tomatoes.
Coronas are very large white runner beans and may be hard to find. I love their big, meaty texture, but other white beans can be substituted. Avoid canned beans since they don’t have the flavor you get from cooking dried beans. If you’re like me and have some kind of cooked beans in your refrigerator, use them.
Recipe
3 cups cooked Corona beans
6-8 roasted Jimmy Nardello peppers*
1 large-ish tomato
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Handful of fresh mint leaves, chopped*
Kosher-style sea salt to taste
*If you’re not using leftover roasted peppers, toss the uncooked peppers in a little olive oil and roast at 400 degrees until soft and lightly browned, about 20 minutes. Substitute any fresh herbs you like, or just leave them out.
Cut the tomato in half and rub the cut side against the large holes of box grater set over a bowl. Press firmly and grate until you’re left with just the skin, which you can discard (or just salt and eat).
Cut the peppers into bite-sized pieces. Combine the beans, peppers, grated tomato, garlic, mint, oil, and vinegar. Taste and add salt as needed. Serve at room temperature.