This mild, creamy bean is famous, and rightly so, for teaming with lamb or even fish, but don't let vegetarian options slip by. Roasted tomatoes and garlic mixed with the cooked, super creamy beans, topped with a drizzle of your very best olive oil, sounds like an end-of-summer highlight. Flageolet are mostly mint green, with some of the beans closer to white. They would be all green if growers could manage to get the entire field to ripen at the same time, which is next to impossible. A greater or lesser amount of white in the mix isn't an indication of quality; they all cook up to a light tan color.
Add beans and enough water to cover by about 2 inches. Bring to a full boil for 10 to 15 minutes. Reduce heat to a gentle simmer, using a lid to help regulate the heat, and gently cook until done, 1 to 3 hours. Salt when the beans start to soften. A pre-soak of 2 to 6 hours will lessen the cooking time.