Things Your Mother Would Make You Eat As A Child!
I remember disliking some foods so much as a child, that I would refuse to eat them, the humble broad bean (aka fava bean, faba bean, field bean, English bean to name just a few of its aliases) was one of them.
They looked so green and tasty inside their fur lined pod when picked fresh. I didn’t like them because they were cooked the old fashioned way, popped un-peeled into a pan of salted boiling water, which meant they would end up pale and wrinkly. The outer shell separating slightly from the bean inside. They always tasted dry and leathery. Sometimes the outer skin would fall off the bean completely and would stick to the roof of your mouth! Yuk!
Depending upon where you live in the world, broad / fava beans are either eaten whole or peeled. If picked young enough, they do not need to be peeled, as the tough skin has yet to form.
If only my mother had peeled the beans or perhaps not let them grow too long on the
pod….
I now like broad beans. The first batch have been planted out into raised beds this week..
Here’s the building blocks to a nice fresh broad / fava bean recipe, that you can enjoy with a ‘fine chianti!’
I used frozen beans on this recipe and parsley from the hydro tunnel.
Broad Bean & Parsley Houmous with Crispy Pancetta
Peeled Broad Beans
Bunch of Parsley
1 Clove of Garlic
Lemon Juice
Salt & Pepper
Crispy Pancetta Strips
Hemp Oil / Olive Oil
Blanch fresh beans first to make the skins easy to remove.
Steam beans until tender
Blitz all the ingredients together, apart from the crispy pancetta.
Add oil until you reach your preferred consistency
Top with crispy pancetta and serve with wholemeal toast or grilled poultry.
hydro2plate 