Adapted from
Plenty (Ebury) by Yotam Ottolenghi
Yotam’s original recipe says to soak the beans in a generous amount of water with 2 tablespoons of baking soda. Some bean purists scoff at using baking soda in the water, but for those who live in areas where the water is full of minerals (such as Paris), I add a large pinch to the cooking water, as the locals do. The beans should be cooked just until tender, but not cooked to mush. The cooking time for them will vary but don’t let the water foam up when you do!
For the spring onions, I used cébette (which often goes by various names in France), which you can see pictured in the
Herbed Ricotta Tart recipe. Scallions, green garlic, or a similar spring onion can be used. In the post, I mention some possible substitutions for the sumac and sorrel.