The best conversations I can remember having with my mother were while shelling peas and beans. Keeping the hands busy, and having a reason not to make eye contact, is a great way of taking conversation into areas that you would normally skirt around. If you need to have a potentially difficult chat with adolescent children, a pile of beans is a great way to bridge the silences and lubricate the flow.
There is something unique and wonderful about the smell of a broad bean field, particularly when in flower – added to the fact that they come early in the summer, when there is little else around, so we grow quite a few of them. We used to have an eccentric doctor who rang up every spring to buy tonnes of young beans in their pods for pressing into some sort of elixir, which he claimed cured just about anything. I have not heard from him for a few years so I suspect he has been struck off. Recently a customer assured us that rubbing warts repeatedly with the furry inside of a broad bean pod was a reliable cure (she insisted that her success had always been with organic pods).
Prior to the conquest of the Americas, broad beans were the only beans grown in Europe and, when meat wasn’t available, they were a vital source of protein. They are also the only beans that are frost hardy and truly happy in our climate. As such, they can be ready to pick six weeks earlier than runner or French beans.
Our over-wintered crop, sown in the autumn, can be a bit hit and miss, depending on the severity of the winter, the hunger and determination of the local crow population and the weather at the time of pollination. As a result, the first picking in June tends to be feast or famine. The spring-sown crop is more reliable and flowers when pollinating conditions have improved, producing betterquality, well-filled pods for picking in July. It is possible to pick right through the summer but by mid July we are normally picking French beans and find that our customers’ interest has waned, so we seldom sow beyond early April.
From a grower’s perspective, the aphid black fly is the main problem, along with occasional voracious attacks of bean weevil. There is a certain stage, about two weeks before the first beans are ready to pick, when the leading shoot can be picked out (and stir-fried to good effect – see Storage and preparation). If you grow broad beans in your garden, you may find that this helps to delay black fly attack and encourages the upper pods to fill.
Storage and preparation
Broad beans keep well in their pods and will survive for a week in the bottom of your fridge without significant deterioration, even if the pods become a little limp. It is, however, vital to pick the beans while they are still tender. The very small, immature pods can be boiled and eaten whole but you will have to grow them yourself for this. In Italy it is common to eat the shelled beans raw with pecorino cheese while they are still only about 1cm long. Larger beans are normally shelled and boiled for 3 or 4 minutes. Larger beans can be blanched in boiling water before slipping them out of their inner skins – an enjoyable task for children. Jane always does this with larger beans in the Field Kitchen and I enjoy the results but lack the patience or dexterity to do it often myself. If the stalk attaching the bean to the pod is starting to brown, they are getting too mature, and fit only for an Andalusian donkey. If you get these from us, you should complain.
Don’t be put off by the appearance of the pod; broad beans often develop chocolate spot (causing speckled browning of the pods) later in the season and, as this does not affect the eating quality of what is inside, we assume you will be fairly tolerant of it. To get a really strong bean flavour, if the pods are in reasonable condition they can be simmered to make a stock to use in a risotto or for inclusion in a béchamel sauce.
Bean tops can be pretty nasty steamed or boiled but I strongly recommend stir-frying; only use the leading shoot and make sure you use them fresh. Not everyone likes them – despite my protestations, Jane refuses to serve them in the Field Kitchen. Stir-fry the dry bean tops in olive oil with roughly chopped garlic and seasoning until they collapse. Serve immediately, perhaps with squeeze of lemon. Goes well with lamb.
A quick and easy late-spring soup. Frozen peas can be added at the broad bean stage, if you like.
Serves 4
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus an extra splash
400g courgettes, grated
500ml vegetable stock
400g shelled broad beans
a small bunch of mint, chopped
a small bunch of basil, chopped
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
grated Parmesan cheese, to serve
Sauté the onion and garlic in the olive oil for 10 minutes, until soft but not coloured. Add the grated courgettes, cover the pan and sweat for 10 minutes. Pour in the vegetable stock, add the broad beans and simmer for 10 minutes, until the courgettes and beans are tender. Season with salt and pepper, then add a splash of olive oil and lots of chopped mint and basil.
Take out a third of the soup, liquidise it until smooth and then stir it back into the pan. Sprinkle with Parmesan and serve warm or at room temperature.
Penne with Broad Beans, Bacon, Mint and Cream
This makes a great quick pasta dish but you could also serve the sauce on its own, as an accompaniment to grilled or roast chicken.
Serves 4
500g shelled broad beans
350g penne
100g pancetta or smoked streaky bacon, cut into fine batons
1 tablespoon butter or olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
200ml double cream
a small bunch of mint, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Cook the broad beans in boiling salted water for a few minutes, until tender. Drain and set aside.
Cook the pasta in a large pan of boiling salted water until al dente. Meanwhile, fry the bacon in the butter or oil until just beginning to brown, then add the garlic and stir for a minute without letting it colour. Stir in the cream, mint and broad beans and simmer for a few minutes. Then add the Parmesan and season to taste.
When the pasta is done, drain well, toss with the sauce and serve immediately.
This classic Middle Eastern toasted bread salad is given a new twist with spring vegetables. The cumin in the dressing adds a bit of a kick but you can reduce the quantity if you prefer a more subtle effect. Serve with grilled fish or as part of a mezze.