Tuscan Red Bean
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If you love red beans, you'll want to grab a bag of these sturdy yet incredibly creamy heirlooms grown on the West Coast from Italian seed stock.
Grown for centuries in the region of Lucca, these fabled beans are eaten in the walled city, often smothered in the best Tuscan olive oil as a side dish for meat or fish. They also find their way into Zuppa di Farro, the local version of the famous soup found in home kitchens all over Italy, and of course, you'll love them in Pasta e Fagioli.
They look somewhat like a borlotto bean (cranberry bean) dipped in hibiscus tea, and it would be easy to make the mistake of thinking they were similar to Borlotti, a mistake we've been making for years. They are a red bean, maybe the closest thing we offer to a kidney bean, but these are so superior to "kidney beans" that we're hesitant to make the comparison.
Our seed stock comes from Italy, but we are not calling them Rosso di Lucca out of respect for the local farmers in Tuscany. The beans are the same, but the terroir justifies a different, unique name.
Cooking Suggestions
From the Rancho Gordo Kitchen
Cooking Instructions
Similar to
Domingo Rojo, Red Kidney
Latin name
Phaseolus vulgaris
Country of origin
USA
CUSTOMER REVIEWS
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Verified Customer Reviews
Incredibly Tasty and Versatile
These beans exceeded my expectations. I've made them a couple of times now and both times provided a fabulous meal. The broth generated from this bean is delicious on its own slowly simmered in either a chicken or beef stock with a simple mirepoix and fresh garlic. The second time I made these beans, I simmered them in stock with a few roasted bone-in beef short ribs and a mirepoix. Throw in some "bumpy" kale and a tablespoon of organic tomato paste too for more nutrition and flavor. Simply...
Review on 07/01/2023
OK Bean
I've cooked these twice - once with a pre-soak and once without. Virtually the same either way, except for cooking time; although they do cook pretty quickly. Quite a few splits and varied from firm to pretty soft. Tasty, but the broth doesn't come close to comparing with some of the other red beans (Hidatsa Red, Domingo Rojo). An OK bean -- they just didn't ring the "get more" bell for me like most other RG beans do.
Review on 19/01/2023
Just like in Lucca
I had these beans in Lucca 15 years ago, served simply with a drizzle of excellent olive oil and some shaved Grana Padano cheese. I've thought about them ever since but couldn't reproduce them, but these beans are the ones - they cooked quickly and evenly without a soak, didn't fall apart, and taste amazing!
Review on 13/02/2023
Great in Tuscan farro soup!
These are remarkably creamy and cooked so much faster than I expected. Wonderful broth that worked so well (along with the beans) in Tuscan Farro soup!
Review on 27/02/2023
A New Favorite!
The Tuscan Red beans are delicious. I've used them in escarole soup, for New England baked beans, and mixed with herbs, onions and good olive oil as a side dish. They are exquisite! And as a side bonus, they do not result in music as a result of eating Rancho Gordo musical fruits! Absolutely adore these beans!
Review on 16/03/2023
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The Rancho Gordo Story
You Can Blame it All on the Dutch
I was shopping one August for tomatoes and, despite Napa being one of the world's most magnificent agricultural regions, all the tomatoes were from a hothouse in Holland! Worse, they were hard and pale pink instead of the ripe tomatoes I was craving. I started to grow my own tomatoes and this eventually led to beans.
My first harvested heirloom bean was Rio Zape. They were pretty and easy to grow but I had no idea what to expect when I cooked them. They were similar to the pintos I liked but there was so much more going on. Hints of chocolate and coffee mixed with an earthy texture made my head spin. I was blown away by Rio Zape and the other heirloom beans I was growing, but also really confused why they were such a big secret. I took the beans to the farmers market, organizing things on my kitchen table. Soon there was a warehouse, followed by more markets and mail order. It seems we had struck a nerve. People agreed that heirloom beans were worth saving, growing and cooking. Currently our warehouse, a retail shop, and offices are in Napa, California, and a stop here is part of many tours of the wine country.
All of my agricultural pursuits have been based on being someone who likes to cook but gets frustrated by the lack of ingredients, especially those that are native to the Americas. One of the things that originally drew me to beans was the fact that they are indigenous to the Americas. It seems to me these indigenous ingredients should be familiar, if not common. American cuisine is re-inventing itself and I'd love to include ingredients, traditions and recipes from north and south of the border as part of the equation. I love the concept of The Americas. I feel as if it's just as important as the European heritage many of us share.
You can read more about the Rancho Gordo story here.
