These small white beans are similar to navy beans, but our dried cannellini beans have the faint flavor of roasted chestnuts. They are often used in Tuscan cooking -- most notably in Fagioli all'Uccelletto, where boiled cannellini beans are sauteed in olive oil, sage and tomatoes -- the way small birds (uccelli) are prepared in this part of Italy. Cannellini beans are rarely eaten fresh, as they are easier to harvest when the pods are dry.