From My Italian Heart: Recipes from an Italian
kitchen, Guy Grossi, Lantern, 2005.
I’m very
fond of broad beans but they are such a pain to prepare when you have to remove
the tough skin from around the bean. When I’m in no hurry and in a calm mood
it’s an activity that I enjoy as it can be rather relaxing to give the hard
skin a little pinch and then pop out the bright green bean. However it is time
time-consuming so I need to be making something that I’m sure will be worth the
effort.
I made
broad bean burgers recently from Plenty
by Yotam Ottolenghi and they were exceptionally good. I was hoping that Guy
Grossi’s recipe for braised broad beans would also be a good one.
The
beans, naturally, had to first be de-skinned. Once that was done some onion and
garlic were fried in a pan until they were softened and starting to brown. Then
the beans were added with a little tomato paste, some chopped basil and
parsley, a little stock and white wine. They were simmered for about 20
minutes. After seasoning they were ready to serve.
As a side
dish this worked well. The beans came through nicely in the savoury sauce and
it is worth me remembering to cook my next lot of broad beans in a similar sauce rather than the simple plain boiling which has been my custom.
Taste: ✔✔✔
Ease of
cooking: ✔✔✔✔
