Fabes — white beans with clams

The day before, put the beans in a large bowl and cover generously with cold water. Refrigerate and soak for about 720 minutes. Change the water once during soaking. Drain and rinse the beans.

Peel the onions and garlic. Put the beans in a large pot with 1 whole onion, 4 cloves garlic, the bay leaves and 3000 ml water. Bring to a gentle simmer without salt. Partly cover and cook very gently for about 120 minutes until almost tender. Avoid a rolling boil and shake the pot rather than stirring.

Rinse the clams. Discard broken shells and any that stay open when tapped. Put in a pan with the remaining 200 ml water and 2 g salt. Cover and cook over high heat for about 5 minutes until open. Lift out the opened clams and discard any that remain shut. Strain the juices through muslin.

Chop the remaining 2 onions and 2 cloves garlic. Wash and chop the parsley. Heat the oil in a frying pan. Soften the onion and garlic over medium heat for about 10 minutes. Add the parsley and flour and stir for 1 minute. Add the wine and strained clam juices. Simmer for about 3 minutes until thickened.

Remove the bay leaves. Lift out the cooked whole onion, mash with a fork and return to the pot. Add the wine mixture, saffron and remaining 6 g salt. Simmer gently for about 30 minutes until the beans are very tender. Add the clams at the end and warm through for 2 minutes without boiling hard.