Vegetable Recipes - Broad Beans with Bacon Recipe

  
 

Vegetable Recipes - Broad Beans with Bacon Recipe

Ingredients

Serve 4-6

  • 250 g/8 oz frozen broad beans

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

  • 125 g/4 oz pancetta, finely diced

  • 1 onion, finely chopped

  • 1 garlic clove, crushed

  • 400 g/13 oz can chopped tomatoes

  • 1 sage sprig

  • 1 teaspoon sugar

  • salt and pepper

Method:

  1. Cook the beans in salted boiling water for 5-6 minutes, or according to the packet instructions.

  2. Meanwhile, put the oil and pancetta in a saucepan and heat gently until the fat runs from the pancetta.

  3. Add the onion and garlic and cook gently for about 5 minutes until softened but not colored. Add the tomatoes and their juice, the sage, sugar, and salt and pepper to taste.

  4. Bring to the boil, stirring. Drain the beans and add to the tomato sauce, then simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes, shaking the pan constantly.  

  5. Taste and adjust the seasoning, if necessary, before serving.

Note: Broad beans have a very short season in early summer, and freshly picked, young broad beans are delicious cooked in this way. For this recipe you will need about 500 g/1 lb broad beans in their shells, and they will need to be boiled for 15-20 minutes. Mature broad beans become woolly and tasteless, and develop a tough skin, so don't bother with them.