Broad bean recipes

May and June are the months that there is fresh broad bean available. The Spanish prefer the beans very young and eat them as mange-tout. They cook them, dip them in batter, fry them and then marinate them in a mixture of vinegar, garlic, sugar and saffron. However, in Northern Europe we like to eat the grains of the broad beans. There are many recipes for these broad beans and I like to share a few with you on this blog.

Broad bean dip

Ingredients

300 g broad beans, podded

3 tbsp Greek yoghurt

1/2 lemon

1 tbsp fresh dill

bread, bread sticks or vegetables to dip

Method

• Bring a large pan of water to the boil. Add the broad beans and cook until tender. Drain and refresh in iced water. 
• Puree the broad beans, yoghurt and a little seasoning together in a food processor or with a blender. 
• Squeeze in the lemon juice. Finely chop the dill and spoon through the mixure.

Ful medames

Ingredients

2 cups podded broad beans

Olive oil

1/2 onion, finely chopped minced

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

small piece of ginger, minced

1 tsp ground cumin
pinch of chili powder (or to taste)

salt and pepper
lemon juice (optional)

Method

• Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a large pan. Add the onion and garlic. Stir fry for 5 minutes until onion is soft.
• Add cumin and chili powder, then add the broad beans.
• Add a bit of water until the beans are almost under. Cook until the beans are tender.
• Add salt and lemon juice to taste.
• Mash or blend the mixture to a semi-smooth texture.
• Serve in a bowl with olive oil dribbled over it.
• Serve with fresh (warm) bread

To make the dish more nourishing you can top it with:

• diced tomato
• hard boiled eggs
• scrambled egg
• chili flakes
• diced sweet paprika
• onion rings
• a dollop of greek yoghurt
• parsley or coriander

Note: this is a recipe I got from Ethiopia, but it is also very popular in the Middle East and prepared more or less the same way. In Ethiopia it is made with older fresh beans or dried beans (soaked overnight and boiled for 1 to 2 hours), and is a favourite breakfast, served with strong sweet coffee, scrambled eggs and bread.

 Broad beans with bacon, onion and white wine

                                                      Ingredients

300 g broad beans, podded

Olive oil

1 onion, chopped

4 rashers of bacon, chopped

2 gloves of garlic, minced

100 ml white wine

2 sprigs fresh rosemary

2 bay leaves 

salt and pepper to taste

Method

• Fry the onion, bacon and garlic in 1 tbsp olive oil until onion is soft and bacon slightly browned.
• Add the broad beans and stir through the mixture.
• Add the wine, herbs and pepper (do not add salt yet, because it makes the beans tough)
• Cook until the beans are tender and the wine almost evaporated (if it becomes too dry, add some water).
• Season to taste. Serve as a side dish.

To make this a vegetarian dish you can replace the bacon with mushrooms.

Broad beans with anjovy

300g of young broad beans, podded

Olive oil

A handful of cherry tomatoes, halved

1 white onion, chopped

1 can of anjovy fillets, chopped

2 tbsp fresh parsley or marjoram

• Cook the beans for 3 minutes in boiling water. Drain and refresh with cold water.
• In a frying pan, heat 2 tbsp oil. Add the onion and tomatoes. Stir fry until the onion and tomatoes turn slightly brown.
• Add the broad beans and anjovy.
• Season with salt and black pepper. Sprinkle with chopped parsley or marjoram.

Paella with broad beans

Ingredients:
Olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1/2 chirozo picante, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 can of tomate troceado
1 cup rice (arroz redondo)
2 cups stock (chicken or fish), simmering
1 red sweet pepper, diced
1 cup fresh broad beans (podded)
2 sprigs rosemary

Method:
Use a pealla pan or a flat frying pan. Heat about 1/4 cup olive oil in the pan. Add the onion and fry until glazy. Add chorizo and garlic. Fry for 5 minutes.
Mix in the tomato and the rice. Keep stirring until the rice is glazy. Add the stock. Stir well.
Top the dish with sweet pepper, broad beans and rosemary and press a bit into the rice mixture. From now on, do not stir but let the dish cook gently for 20 minutes. If it becomes to dry, add some more stock.
Check if the rice is tender by removing a grain and feel it is soft.
Remove the rosemary and stir the paella.



Tips for preparing and preserving broad beans

1. To avoid discolouring after podding, keep the beans in cold water with a few drops of lemon.
2. Do not add salt before of during cooking the beans. Salt will make the skins tough and the cooking time will be considerably longer. Season the prepared dish after cooking.
3. The whole pods you can keep in the fridge, wrapped in plastic, for up to 2 weeks. Podded beans, will discolour after 1 day, cooked beans you kan keep in a closed container for about 3-4 days.
4. Freezing broad beans: Pod the beans. Blanch them for 1-2 minutes in boiling water, drain and refresh under cold water. Spread the beans on a clean towel and let them dry. Freeze the beans in layers on trays. After freezing, keep them in plastic containers or freezing bags.