This one's for you ketchup ~ what does your man favour for the preparation of these big fat beauties at this time of the year?

Soissons or lingots?

Soissons ~ the really big expensive ones.

Hmmm, never prepared those myself. It's rare to find specific recipes asking for Soissons. They are cooked the same way as lingots, but more often used cold in salads and... surprisingly, with grilled fish (italian influence?). Go find an Asturian cookbook for good bean recipes!

I was told to always boil (previously soaked)dry beans in soft water (rain water or evt. Spa reine),with no added salt during the first cooking stage to avoid hardness of the skins. I tend to do this but it might be a fallacy. Anyone who got experience in this field?

Strange: If you search the web for 'haricots soissons' you get plenty links to gay websites. It seems to have a specific connotation in those circles.

? The mind boggles.....

I thought they were a Belgian speciality. Going to see what my Larousse says then ....

I love them so I'm sorry to say beans and lentils are not a Belgian affair at all, you'll have to go North (raasdonders & capucijners) or South (Moros y christianos, borlotti, flageolets)