Once cooked borlotti beans have a lovely creamy texture and a sweetness to them, which means that they can be enjoyed very simply: a generous serving of a good olive oil and a little seasoning will do nicely. I was introduced to an interesting way of cooking beans by Lori de Mori of Towpath Café, which is in a beautiful spot along London’s Regent’s Canal. She is also co-author of the great cookbook Beaneaters and Bread Soup. Tuscans are often referred to as ‘beaneaters’ by other Italians because they eat so many beans. After baking their bread they place a glass jar full of beans in the embers along with olive oil, garlic and sage and leave to cook slowly overnight. In the morning they’d have freshly cooked beans – it’s called fagioli al fiasco, or beans in a flask. Lori gave me one of these flasks as a gift and we made fagioli al fiasco to sit on the bar. Here we’ve paired the beans with a ripe mozzarella and wild green sauce, which gives it a lovely summer lift.