BROAD BEANS/FAVA BEANS

Broad beans are finally here just in time for Christmas. Fresh broad beans are sweet and delicious. They only have a short natural season during the summer, so are often dried, canned or frozen to preserve them, they often come under the name of fava bean in many countries. Young thin beans are eaten pods and all, but larger, older broad beans need to have the tough pods removed.

YOUNG BROAD BEANS (still in their pod)

When the first beans arrive instead of bothering to pod them as they are so small, you can simply top and tail them, cut them into 1cm pieces and place into a pot of boiling water which has been lightly salted.Cook them for 5 minutes or until the pods are tender, drain and either add a knob of butter or drizzle of extra virgin olive oil a sprinkle of sea salt flakes and a grind of pepper.They are delicious like this and they can only be eaten in this manner when they are very young and tender!