
I’ve just finished picking the last broad beans from my garden. Intermittently over the past month, I’ve been doing the same thing at someone else’s vegetable garden where I spend most of my mornings lending a hand. The soil down there is rich and well cared for which is reflected in how well everything grows.
Twenty minutes up the road to the vegetable plot in my garden, there’s a different scene. Despite our efforts to enrich a very stoney and depleted soil when we arrived in the Autumn, my broad beans didn’t do as well. I’ve fought with black bean aphids (unfortunately its biggest predator, the ladybird, came too late) and broad bean rust, a fungal disease which affects the leaves. Despite this, I harvested two baskets full of pods this week and the beans are perfectly fine.
My first batch of beans has already been blanched and frozen and today’s haul will be used to make the two recipes below. I have a small, third helping beside me for intermittent grazing while writing this post.
Some people find the process of podding beans a bit repetitious and faffy but I enjoy it. I set out my bowls - one for the pod shells and one for the beans - and set to work, snapping one end of the pod to remove the stringy seal and then running my thumb along the edge to expose the row of broad beans inside.
I’d be happy to eat broad beans in salads every day but my partner is less keen, so I have to be more inventive with how we use them. They have a bit of a reputation for being boring but I disagree. They’re so versatile!
We enjoyed someone’s version of this broad bean pesto a few weeks ago and that’s how I ended up playing around with my own versions. You can serve the dips with bread, crisps, sliced vegetables or even as a dressing for pasta or potatoes. Below I’ve provided two recipes. You can buy frozen broad beans in the supermarket if you can’t get hold of them fresh from your local store or grow them at home.
Ingredients for Broad Bean ‘Pesto’
150g broad beans (fresh or frozen)
50g Parmesan cheese, grated
15ml olive oil
30g almonds (pine nuts or cashews work well too but walnuts are too bitter)
1 clove of garlic, peeled
The juice and zest of half a lemon
Salt to taste
Method
Boil the broad beans in water for 3-5 minutes until tender. They should float to the top. Drain and cool them in cold water to prevent them from cooking further. Peel the skins off if they are large. The skin will be wrinkled and loose now, so easier to get the tip of a sharp knife underneath.
Add the broad beans, parmesan cheese, almonds, lemon zest and garlic to a food processor (or in a pestle and mortar) and blend (or pound) until the mixture is coarse. Add the lemon juice and gradually add the olive oil. Check frequently and pulse until the mixture is smooth. Season to taste.
Ingredients for Broad Bean dip with Lime and Chipotle
150g broad beans (fresh or frozen)
15ml olive oil
30g almonds (pine nuts or cashews work well too but, again, avoid walnuts)
1 clove of garlic, peeled
2 limes (the juice of 2, the zest of 1)
Salt to taste
Chipotle flakes or fresh chilli (to taste)
Small handful of Coriander (optional)
1 tablespoon of Greek / plant-based yoghurt
This is a great vegan alternative as it doesn’t contain the cheese. I switched the lemon for limes and added smoked chipotle flakes. Follow the same method, as outlined in the first recipe. You could add a dollop of Greek or plant-based yoghurt (to keep it vegan) to give it a creamy richness. It’s great with tortilla chips or as a fresh alternative to refried beans in tacos.
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