By Pattie

Re: Thrifty me!
17 Jul 2008 17:21

Broad Beans in my Organic Box this week and am just preparing them to cook. Wondering if the outer pod could be used to make soup ? During the war I remember we used to make Pea Shuck Soup which was very good so would the same thing apply do you think. We did not waste anything at all in those days so maybe we should all go back to it.......

Replies

By gerry

Re: Thrifty me!
17 Jul 2008 17:22

Pattie, perhaps they could be used in a stock but I haven't done so.

By jeni_hope

Re: Thrifty me!
17 Jul 2008 17:32

This is a copy from The Veg Box Diaries;
For a while now I’ve been meaning to do something with the pile of broad bean pods which are always leftover after a hearty bean-shucking session. A lazy Sunday morning has given me the opportunity to experiment with cooking these plump and hairy little critters.

Being a cook of cautious temperament, I went as usual for advice to my number one mentor in all matters vegetable, Jane Grigson. This recipe is more or less a direct rip-off of hers, although the nutmeg was my humble addition.
Broad bean pod puree
1. Boil a big pan of salty water. Remove black spots and stringy bits from the bean pods and thrown into the roiling water. Leave them until they’re tender. By the end I had some scum on the surface of the water which needed skimming off. Drain, keeping the water.

2. Pass the soft pods through a mouli-legume (food mill) back into the pan, using the attachment with the largest holes. Or rubbing through a sieve would do the job I guess. This will remove the stringy skins of the pod and leave a slightly watery mush. Stir this for a minute or three over a medium heat to remove the excess moisture.

3. Finally, I seasoned the mush well and added a generous knob of butter and a grate or two of fresh nutmeg. And that’s it, folks.

It tastes delicious, although you only get a small cup-full from a large pile of pods. We’re going to have it for lunch as a thick sauce with slabs of salty bacon and a clean, simple, crisp salad. And, hopefully, a glass or two of white wine.

And then I’m going to snooze in the garden - knotted hanky on my head and pale English legs slowly turning pink in the hazy London sun.

By gerry

Re: Thrifty me!
17 Jul 2008 17:54

jeni_hope, sounds nice.

By *Bramble

Re: Thrifty me!
17 Jul 2008 18:58

Just too late for my broad beans, Jeni, but I'll be asking in a year's time "I'm sure there was a bean-pod recipe"...

By nanny ogg

Re: Thrifty me!
17 Jul 2008 19:43

hi, pattie I am in Berkshire too,on the subject of waste food, during the war did you have bins in your street where we put all the peelings etc which were collected each day and fed to the pigs. My mums friend got drunk one night and fell head first into one of these bins, he never lived it down.
<{B-) x

By Essex Girl

Re: Thrifty me!
17 Jul 2008 23:08

You've just made me laugh, Nanny!!!

By Michele

Re: Thrifty me!
18 Jul 2008 07:04

Pattie - what about a broad bean dip, to serve on bruschetta as pre dinner nibbles? They are delicious. And I think it would freeze well, too. Just a thought.