Posts Tagged ‘Broad Beans’

Asparagus is so delicious, it’s very easy to cook and to make a simple, delicious meal. All you need to do is trim off the woody ends – some people say you should take the spears individually and gently bend the tops over until they snap – and use them in salads. With older asparagus the best thing may be to throw the tougher ends away, but I tend to save them for adding chopped to a pasta dish or a soup, taking advantage of their distinctive taste more than their looks.

Steam the plump green spears and drizzle them with some olive oil and lemon juice, or make some homemade mayonnaise to dunk them into – a few dark green spears can make a simple supper or light starter. As well as the oil and the creamy homemade mayonnaise complementing the crisp spears, slightly soft-boiled eggs and shavings of Parmesan cheese turn them into a delicious indulgent-tasting salad, into which I’ve thrown some chopped fresh dill – I’m somewhat obsessed with this fresh herb at the moment, but you could equally add fresh parsley, or coriander, for a herbal zing.

Many recipes for asparagus and egg salad partner it with small pieces of pancetta, but I find that this can be a little too greasy (and would by the way take the fat level of the salad pretty high), so I prefer to get the smoky meat flavours from thin slices of San Daniele ham (from which I trim any excess visible fat). If you can, buy wafer-thin pieces of this Italian ham and then it will melt in your mouth. English roast ham can work well too – everything fresh asparagus needs to make it into a delicious lunch or supper.

I think one trick with asparagus is, the same as with all vegetables, not to overcook it, as then it turns mushy –it’s best to undercook it if anything, so that you have some crunch when you bite into it. And of course, nutritionally, the less you cook it the fewer vitamins and minerals you will lose; this is especially the case with the water-soluble vitamins such as vitamin C, so you’re best to steam or chargrill your asparagus to maximize how much vitamin C you have left when you bite into the spears.

Nutritionally asparagus is rich in fibre , especially a soluble fibre called inulin, which is what we call a prebiotic – a type of fibre that encourages the body to grow good bacteria such as acidophilus and bifidus, which may have benefits for reducing heart disease and certain cancers as well as help relieve IBS symptoms. Asparagus also contains Vitamin C, a little iron, a small amount of vitamin E and some B vitamins.

But back to eating the delicious stuff-a good asparagus based nibble can be simply popped together by wrapping the lightly cooked spears in wafer-thin slices of ham or smoked fish, or mashing them with some ripe avocado and lemon juice and serving them rather like guacamole – although I would only tend to do this when I’ve picked up a few cheaper bunches, which you may be lucky enough to do at a roadside or market stall, or when I have some cooked spears left over from a meal, as it’s a pity not to take advantage of asparagus’s attractive fronds.

Asparagus Salad with San Daniele Ham and Soft-Boiled Egg

This salad is also delicious if you use roast chicken instead of the ham, or different young raw vegetables, such as baby carrots, fresh crisp fennel (sliced), ripe tomatoes, rocket or radishes – it’s an all-round delicious salad that works throughout the spring and summer, depending on what you have around.

Serves 4

500g asparagus
300g broad beans
4 large eggs
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
1 x 300g bag of watercress
8 slices of San Daniele ham

In a large pan of slightly salted boiling water, cook the asparagus for a couple of minutes before adding the broad beans. Let them simmer for a further couple of minutes until both beans and asparagus are tender but not mushy – you want them still to have a bit of bite, otherwise the salad can taste a little mushy. Drain them well and put to one side. Some people like to remove the skins from the broad beans, and this is a fun thing to do with little ones, as they literally squeeze them slightly and out pops the dark green bean, but if the beans are very fresh and young it’s fine to eat them as they are, with their skins on.

Next bring a large pan of boiling water to the boil for poaching the eggs. People poach eggs in different ways, but I tend to crack the egg into a teacup and gently tip it into the water. Do the same with the remaining eggs, then simmer them all very gently for 1 minute. Turn off the heat, cover the pan and leave them to sit for 5 minutes, until the eggs are just set. Meanwhile, make your dressing by mixing together the oil, lemon juice, mustard and dill.

Put the watercress, asparagus and broad beans into a bowl and mix lightly with the dressing. Season with plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Serve the salad on a large platter or 4 individual plates, top with the eggs and slices of ham, and tuck in.

Stevie Parle, cook at The Dock Kitchen in Notting Hill, recently wrote a mouth-watering article in The Observer Organic Allotment blog. We were so pleased to see our fantastic spring peas and broad beans get a mention and be featured in his perfect springtime dish. We’ve been suppling The Dock Kitchen with our fruit and veg since they started and it’s the same fruit and veg available online at www.natoora.co.uk so you really can re-create this fantastic dish at home!

Read on for his broad bean, pea and artichoke creation, or read the full article in The Guardian, and don’t forget to visit Stevie Parle’s blog for more delicious ideas.

Peas, Artichokes and Broad Beans slow cooked together with Sweet Herbs, Lemon and Turkish Pepper Flakes

Serves 6 as a lunch or 8 as a starter

500g of fresh peas without pods
400g of fresh broad beans podded
8 small violette artichokes
2 small red onions
a quarter of a spring garlic bulb
a few sprigs of each mint, parsley, dill, tarragon, chervil and marjoram
a pinch of Turkish pepper flakes (or other mild dried chilli pepper)
a generous amount of olive oil
1 lemon

“Take the artichokes and cut the stems leaving about 5 cm below the choke. Peel the leaves one by one taking care not to pull off much choke. When a little less than half the leaf is tender and pale yellow instead of dark green and tough, stop peeling and cut the dark green tops off. Peel the outside of the stem and the base of the heart. Remove any furry choke and quarter the artichokes before setting them aside in some lemony water.

Finely chop the onion and fry it gently in olive using a deep heavy bottomed pan. When the onion has turned a little translucent add the garlic, finely chopped, and season well with salt and pepper. When this mixture has cooked long enough for the onion to start to break up and the flavour developed the sweetness only onions and garlic can, add the artichoke quarters continue to cook slowly for another five minutes until they begin to soften. Add the peas and broad beans, fry gently for a little while and then add enough water to almost cover the vegetables. Place a piece of greaseproof paper over and allow to cook gently until everything has softened and the flavours have all mingled. Coarsley chop all the herbs, add them and then finish with the lemon and a glug more delicious olive oil for good measure.

Serve a little warmer than room temperature in a bowl, with a piece of toast rubbed with garlic and drizzled with oil.”

Thanks Stevie we will definitely be trying this one out! There’s plenty more Spring goodies to find at Natoora – why not check out our weekly picks for some inspiration and get cooking!

We’ve searched far and wide and not been able to find fresh broad Beans in any of the supermarkets! Ours are absolutely amazing at the moment – super fresh and full of flavour. Read on to find out more….

Taste: Now at the beginning of the season, our broad beans are so young and fresh that they don’t need cooking. Just remove them from the pod and from their skin and eat them as they are, or try them sprinkled with lemon juice and accompanied by a salty pecorino.

Region: These broad beans are among the best on the market. They are grown in Southern Italy and specifically in Basilicata, where they are considered a staple food.

Quality: The difference between fresh and dried or frozen beans is so great it’s almost impossible to compare, as the flavour changes significantly. Fresh is surely the best choice and the most versatile as it’s good for salads, soups, purees…

Growing: Broad beans are among the most ancient plants in cultivation and also among the easiest to grow. It is believed that along with lentils, peas, and chickpeas, they became part of the eastern Mediterranean diet in around 6000 BC or earlier.

Cost: We always let you know the price per kg so you can easily compare our prices. At the moment you will struggle to find them anywhere else!

Natoora “Broad beans“ £5.20/kg

For more information and to buy, click here.

Finally Spring has sprung and we are celebrating with a soup made of our favourite early spring veg…

Serves 4

2 Garlic Cloves
4 Artichokes
4 Spring Onions
200g Podded Broad Beans
1 Lemon
4 Slices Rustic Bread
250g Podded Fresh Peas
Parsley
1 White Chicory
4 Eggs
1,5L Water
2 Vegetable Stock Cubes
Rock Sea Salt

Boil the water and make the stock by adding the cubes, blanch the broad beans in it quickly, then remove using a slotted spoon. Once cool, remove the white skin and keep the green beans on the side. Blanch the peas and put on the side. Slice the artichoke, leaving only the heart. Click here for a step by step guide on how to do this!

Clean and finely chop the spring onion, fry it in oil with 1 crushed garlic clove and the chopped chicory, and add the artichokes. Cook for 5 minutes, then add the peas and broad beans. Add salt, pepper and the stock, and cook for 20 minutes.

Toast the bread slices and scrub with garlic, cut them in smaller pieces and lay on the plates. Sprinkle with pepper and olive oil, then break an egg on top of them, carefully. Add some freshly chopped parsley to the soup, then spoon in the plates, trying not to break the egg. The soup has to be boiling hot in order to cook the egg!

A delicious pairing…

Spring is well on its way, but there’s still time to enjoy some winter treasures such as bold and syrupy blood oranges. They make a deliciously interesting match to the rich flavours of mackerel. Try it today!

2 Mackerel Fillets
Butter
1 Shallot
1 Blood Orange
1/2 Glass Dry White Wine
250g Broad Beans
Salt
Pepper

Fry the fish in some butter until golden, making sure not to overcook them. Season with salt and pepper and keep warm.

Blanch the broad beans for a few minutes in salted boiling water, then remove from their skin and set aside.

In the same pan where you cooked the fish, fry some thinly sliced shallot. Add the wine and let it evaporate, then add the juice of the orange and reduce to about half. Add the broad beans, taste and adjust the seasoning.

Place the fillets on the plates and pour over the sauce. Garnish with orange segments. Happy eating!