Anthony and Carol Boutard’s Ayers Creek Farm near Gaston, Oregon produces food that chefs fight to get. They carefully select seed from the best plants in their crops to ensure constant improvement.
Using Italian seed from the Veneto’s famous Borlotto Lamon beans, the Boutards adapted this hard-to-grow pole bean for the Willamette Valley and named it after their farm’s location. Also called cranberry beans, these big brown beans are delicious by themselves, but also go well with tomato sauce and polenta; they’re the best bean for pasta e fagiole.