Mention of Anne Marie Jaumaud and Martin Guillemot (see Megabites) reminds me that they were the first people in the country to grow cranberry beans and sell them, and you can still find them occasionally at their old market stall in the English Market, Cork.
They may have been the first, but I suspect that they will not be the last to grow them, for cranberry beans are not only beautiful to look at - their ivory white skin is offset by a rich red marking - but they taste sensational, with something of the lovely starchiness of the broad bean abetted by a slightly hot note which is splendid.
If you come across them, you can conventionally boil them in water, in which case they cook in about an hour, but I like to cook Assunta's Beans, an old recipe remembered by Marcella Hazan. Pod them first, then place them in a heavy pot with a few sage leaves, some lightly crushed cloves of garlic, a few ounces of water and a few tablespoons of olive oil. Sprinkle in salt and pepper, cover the pan with a tea-towel and the lid (use a fine, heavy pan) and cook them slowly, checking the water level after 45 minutes. They should cook in very little oil and water, and be ready in just over one and a half hours. They lose their lovely ivory and red colour, and become a rather murky khaki shade, but the taste is what counts, and it is amazing.