All About Broad Beans
Rachel MartinShare
These are the hardiest of the bean family (great news for those living in the colder areas of the UK), easy to grow and the flowers are sweetly scented (which helps to attract pollinators to your garden). There are taller and shorter varieties to suit your plot, with seeds ranging from kidney shaped to round and from nearly white to green to red. Opinions vary as to the tastiest so you may need to try out several varieties to find your perfect bean!
This rich diversity stems from the long history behind Broad Beans. We know that Neolithic people were eating this type of bean, they were recorded by the Greeks, the Egyptians and the Romans. They formed a staple part of the diet for the rich and poor alike until the arrival of the potato and remained the only bean widely grown in the UK until the 20th century. The variety Bunyards is still going strong over 100 years after it was first listed.
Many varieties can be autumn sown or, if you worry about the cold or the wet ground as I do, spring sown. April is ideal! You can start them in pots or direct sow (yes I start them in pots to keep the mice off and, with a small garden, I can choose to plant the strongest growing plants – the rest get popped in a corner to give them a chance!). Seed depth: push down with your thumb. Perhaps measure your thumb to know where 4-5cm is!! Cover and let them grow. Sowing at staggered times will spread out your harvest – the variety Express Eleonora is happy sown as late as June.
Just as opinions vary on the best flavour so they do on ‘stopping’ beans: picking off the top growth (very tasty) so that the plants put more energy into the flowers and beans they already have. We don’t do this but it can help to discourage blackfly which love the young succulent growth. Harvest as they reach your preferred size but we like them on the young size. Although very tiny beans can be eaten uncooked I much prefer the cooked ones!
This is a recipe that I was sent by Lesley from Dumfies – I love it AND you can change the ingredients about depending on what you have AND its easy to double up to serve more people. It is based on Faves a la Catalana with a Scottish twist.
For 2 you will need:
- 350-375g broad beans
- 200g Lorne sausage (or bacon, black pudding, pancetta, chorizo or other sausage dried or fresh or indeed a combination of any of these)
- 1 onion (finely chopped)
- 3 garlic cloves (or 3tsp easy garlic)
- a glass of white wine (if you have some, if not use stock)
- a ripe tomato (or half a tin of chopped toms)
- a bunch of mint (paprika/bayleaf/mixed herbs... find your favourite)
• Cut meat into strips or cubes and cook in a fry pan (turning items such as the Lorne sausage and black pudding to all sides are sealed), set aside
• Fry off the chopped onions and garlic over a medium heat in the same fry pan for about 10 minutes
• Roughly chop the tomato and mint (you can also add a little thyme &/or a whole bayleaf), add to the pan along with the broad beans & white wine or stock.
• Stir and cover, after about 20 minutes add the meat and season to taste. Cook for about another 5 minutes before turning the heat off and let it finish for another couple of minutes. The cooking time of the beans can vary so check before turning the heat off, instead turn the heat to very low whilst they finish
• Serve hot with crusty bread
Enjoy, Rachel