Taste of summer with broad bean puree

I’ve come to broad beans late in life. As a youngster I used to hate their leathery skins and bitter taste, only getting them down me out of a sense of duty instilled from being polite to people who prepare food for the dinner table. As soon as I could cater for myself they were definitely off the menu.

That was until I reluctantly agreed to grow some.

A neighbouring allotment keeper when I had a patch in Fallowfied some years ago persuaded me to give them a go – mainly I think because they had a reputation for being easy to grow and I’m a bit of a rubbish gardener.

They certainly did prove to be easy and surprisingly delicious. So I’ve grown them every since. In fact I seem to plant more of them every year and never tire of them – picked young and eaten within minutes of picking, they don’t even need cooking to be delicious but, if you’ve got a bit of a glut of them at this time of the year, this recipe brings out their full flavour. It’s from the fab Moro cook book but is basically a mash-everything-together recipe.

I had mine with barbequed lamb chops marinated in garlic and olive oil but they’d go equally well with other dips or any grilled meat or fish.

All you do is briefly blanch 300g of podded young beans in boiling unsalted water.
Drain and put them in the blender with a garlic clove mashed into a paste with sea salt, a squeeze or two of lemon, two tablespoons of olive oil, a sprig of chopped fresh mint and salt and black pepper to taste.

If you’ve any more broad bean recipes, I’d love to hear them.