Woohoo! My broad bean plants have gone mad this year and delivered a bumper crop of beans ready for me to eat.

I honestly don’t know why people don’t eat more broad beans? Maybe because they’re only available in spring… so a forgotten veg? Or maybe because the peeps out there don’t know that broad beans need to be podded and peeled?

Peeling the broad bean is very important. The sweet delicious bean is hidden inside the skin of the bean itself.

So here’s how you do it!

After podding the beans pop them into some hot water for a minute, then into some cooler water so as not to burn your fingers! Then split the side of the bean with your nail and a brilliant green bean will reveal itself. It’s time consuming but totally worth it! And you can eat them as you go.

I love to quickly blanch my broad beans and pop them in the freezer ready to consume throughout the year. You can use your broad beans in risotto, pasta, casseroles, or with other steamed vegetables. But truly the most fabulous way to eat a broad bean is raw.

Here’s how I love to eat my broad beans.

After double podding…

Mash the beans and add some parmesan cheese, olive oil and some freshly ground pepper and pop onto a lightly olive oiled piece of toasted sourdough… yeah!