Jam Jars and Blotting Paper

This may seem an obscure title but up until about five years ago if you’d said broad bean to me this would have been my response. Maybe it only happens in English schools but it is practically a rite of passage over here to germinate broad beans in a jam jar with blotting paper. There is the initial excitement as you marvel at the wonders of paper which absorbs liquid and then carefully wrap this magical paper round the inside of the jar and place your precious broad bean between the glass and the paper. For the first few days you can’t help yourself from looking over at the windowsill where your teacher has placed them. At break-time large amounts of energy are spent trying to compare beans and check whether and how much they’ve grown. But, as with everything, soon enough you’re bored with this oddly shaped green blob and the weird white worm growing out of it and attention turns back to how the plastic matting in the playground leaves patterns in your skin or other such important matters.

Since those days of scientific investigation I’ve discovered the culinary delights of the broad bean and look forward to their first appearance in late spring. I have a particular affection for their puffy green jackets and the downy interior of their pods. Broad beans are best eaten, in my humble opinion, steamed in a salad with fresh peas and a simple dressing. I have eaten them in risotto, in soups and stews but I still stick by the salad. Their creaminess and delicacy always seems swamped when they’re forced to share the limelight.

But a new contender for best broad bean recipe has emerged - the fried or roasted broad bean. If you’ve ever eaten roasted chickpeas or channa the texture is somewhat similar to that but with less of the tooth breaking crunch which sometimes makes eating channa more of an endurance test than a pleasure. After the crispy exterior the smoothness which ensues is a pleasant contrast and helps to circulate the flavour around your mouth. I have to admit that the broad beans I ate had chilli on them so my palate was rather overwhelmed but I could detect some of the sweetness which makes broad beans so appealing. Oh well, just means that next time I’ll just have to try them without their spicy seasoning!