Summer doesn’t mean you must give up warm, comforting meals. This Calabrese-inspired romano bean and potato ragout uses seasonal vegetables and familiar flavors for a comforting, feel-good dish.
This post was sponsored by Pompeian. As always, my thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that keep me inspired in the kitchen.
This is the rare moment when you can fight fire with fire—90-degree weather matched with a 90-degree stew. Add a little red pepper flakes and you’ve got summer comfort at its best.
At first I was puzzled when my CSA delivered a big bag of Romano beans. An Italian bean I’d never heard of? It sounded unlikely. After a bit of digging, I learned Romano beans are a beloved variety in Italian cooking: similar to green beans but flatter, heartier, and excellent for stewing.
Simple stews like this are ideal for summer because they let peak-season produce shine. The trade-off is that with few ingredients, quality matters—one off-flavor can spoil the whole pot. I used locally sourced vegetables to keep the flavors bright and fresh.
Olive oil plays a starring role here, and selecting the right one can be confusing. There are many bottles at the store with little guidance about differences in flavor or use. I’m no expert, but a recent olive oil tasting hosted by Pompeian and guided by olive oil specialist Dr. Luisito Cercaci helped me understand how to evaluate oils.
For tasting, warm a small amount of oil in your hands to help its aromas open up. Smell it for 10–15 seconds to detect floral, fruity, or grassy notes. Then taste with a few small sips, sweeping the oil across your tongue and gently inhaling through your mouth; this helps you perceive bitterness and other flavor components. Different oils suit different uses—light, fruity oils work well with delicate vegetable dishes, while bolder oils complement heartier fare. For this ragout I used Pompeian’s Arbequina varietal, which has a fruity aroma and a gentle bitter-sweetness with nutty hints that complement the vegetables in the stew.
Who’s up for a hot-tub-of-stew moment? It’s irresistibly cozy.
- 1 lb romano beans or string beans
- 24 oz fingerling potatoes
- 1/2 cup Arbequina extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 cup water
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 lb spinach, washed and dried
- 28 oz canned whole tomatoes
- Trim the beans and cut each into three pieces crosswise. Set aside. Halve the potatoes lengthwise, then slice crosswise into 1/4-inch pieces.
- Place the potatoes in a large pot, cover with cold water, bring to a boil, then simmer for one minute. Drain.
- Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the potatoes and sauté until tender and beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Stir in the garlic and salt, cook one minute, then transfer the potatoes to a bowl and set aside.
- In the same pot, heat the remaining olive oil with the cup of water. Add the romano beans, red pepper flakes, and oregano. Cook until the beans are tender, about 10 minutes. Add the spinach and cook until wilted.
- Return the potatoes to the pot and add the juice from the canned tomatoes. Crush the whole tomatoes by hand as you add them. Cook until the tomatoes break down and the mixture thickens, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve warm.
For more summer stews, try these:
Oaxacan Green Mole Stew
Summer Potatoes Stewed with Eggplant, Peppers, and Olives
Latin Corn Soup
From Around the Web:
Summer Vegetable Curry from 101 Cookbooks
Tomato Artichoke Lentil Stew from A Couple Cooks
Country-Style Vegetable Stew from Dana Treat
Vegetarian Tortilla Soup from Cookie + Kate
Chilled Carrot Soup with Scape-Pistachio Pesto from Healthy Delicious