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What's in season?
French beans!
At the moment, I'm picking lots of these in the veg garden at Bore Place. They grow really well in the UK and I much prefer them to their slightly stringier relatives, runner beans.
You can enjoy local French beans from around June through to September. I would never buy out of season imported French beans as it takes a massive amount of water to produce them and they have to be air freighted in, often all the way from Africa.
Food facts
Fresh French beans are an excellent source of dietary fibre, vitamins A, B1, B6, C, antioxidants and lots of minerals. They are also very low in cholesterol, sodium and fat.
Recipes
I only really use recipes as a guide, as for me, it all depends on what you have in the fridge. Use what you have and don’t be afraid of experimenting and substituting things, this can lead to great new ideas and combinations. Learn the techniques and apply them to your cooking!
Here are two quick and simple ideas for French beans.
French beans with garlic & breadcrumbs
A traditional French side dish – good with pretty much anything!
Serves 4
2 handfuls of French beans – topped & tailed
1 large clove of garlic - crushed
2- 3 tablespoons breadcrumbs (homemade from leftover bread is best)
1 tablespoon of butter or a good glug of olive oil
Pepper
1. Bring a medium sized pan of water to the boil. Add salt (I was taught that beans should be cooked in water as salty as the sea - this seems a lot of salt but gives a great flavour and helps to keep them green)
2. Place your beans in the pan, cover and cook for 4 minutes, test to make sure they are cooked through but not overdone.
3. At the same time heat up a medium frying pan and add the butter or oil and the garlic, cook gently until it starts to soften but be careful that it doesn’t burn or it will turn bitter.
4. Drain off the beans and add to the frying pan. Add the breadcrumbs toss briefly, season with pepper – it shouldn’t need salt.
5. Serve.
French bean salad (serves 2 as a main or 4 as a starter)
This is great on its own with bread, with boiled or poached eggs, fish or to compliment a BBQ.
1 big handful of French beans – topped
2 tomatoes – roughly diced (or a handful of halved cherry tomatoes)
1 shallot / small onion – finely sliced
A small bunch of basil – torn into pieces
15 or so black olives – stoned and halved
A good glug of olive oil
A small splash of vinegar
Salt & pepper
1. Bring a medium sized pan of water to the boil. Add salt.
2. Place your beans, cover the pan and cook for 4 minutes, test to make sure they are cooked through but not overdone.
3. Remove from the boiling water and place into cold water for a few minutes. This is to stop them cooking (and is called refreshing).
4. Place the beans in a bowl along with the other ingredients, toss together and season to taste. If in doubt add less of the seasonings you can always add more…
Enjoy!