of the rainbow. We call vegetable sellers
“greengrocers” and even abbreviate the edible
plant kingdom to the simple word “greens”
when talking about eating them. here is
something inherently healthy about the colour
green and, in the spring and summer months,
my kitchen, fridge and dinner plate tend to be
full of food of this hue.
Broad beans (or fava beans as they
are known in Italy and the US) are such
a wonderfully vibrant expression of greenness
that I look forward to their arrival each year
with joy and anticipation. Once podded, they
tend to look a litle dulled because of the white
membrane that surrounds each pulse, but
pinch it of and, hey presto, there’s a beautiful
bean inside that is even more verdant than
the bright green casing from which it came.
heir grassy, nuty flavour is enhanced by
a litle blanching. his is not really cooking,
it is simply teasing them out of their shell
and helping them to be a litle less coy.
Like peas, broad beans do tend to
disappear as you pod them; the temptation to
eat them raw while you work always proves just
a litle too great. But they are a glorious summer
ingredient, have a long season and are so
versatile that I enjoy them well into September.
he following delicate dish is a perfect
showcase for the tender, young broad beans
of June and can be served as a starter or as
a light lunch on a warm day with a glass of cold,
crisp Gavi di Gavi. Much more appropriate than
chianti. Just beware of wasps.Russell Norman’s new cookbook Venice: Four
Seasons of Home Cooking (Penguin Fig Tree)
is out nowServes four
Ingredients- 1.5kg fresh broad beans,
podded to yield about 380g - 10 breakfast radishes
- 200g very good feta cheese
- 200g fine, herby salad leaves,
washed and dried - Large handful mint leaves
- Quarter clove garlic, peeled
and extremely finely chopped - 3 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- Heaped tsp Dijon mustard
- Flay sea salt
- Ground black pepper
Method
① Put the podded broad beans
into a saucepan of boiling
water for one minute only.
Drain in a sieve and run under
very cold water until cooled.
One by one, pinch a small hole
in the membrane of each and
push the bean within out into
a bowl. hey should pop out
satisyingly. Set aside.② To make the dressing, put the
olive oil, lemon juice, chopped
garlic and mustard into a clean
empy jam jar. Add a good pinch
of salt and a good twist of black
pepper, screw the lid on very
tightly and shake vigorously
over the sink until completely
combined and emulsified.③ Place the salad leaves into
a very large mixing bowl.
Using a speed peeler, very thinly
slice the radishes lengthways
allowing the slivers to fall into
the bowl. Roughly tear the mint
leaves and add those too. hrow
in the broad beans and roughly
broken-up feta.④ Pour the dressing into
the mixing bowl and, using
wooden salad tossers or your
hands, very gently turn all the
ingredients over several times
until evenly coated. Carefully
distribute onto four wide plates
and eat immediately.Style 63