My dad’s friend, Barry, is an amazing gardener, growing all kinds of vegetables, fruits and flowers. He is generous with his crop, too, always giving away bags of lemons, tomatoes and whatever else is in season.
The other day he gave us a bag of broad beans and a recipe.
I’ve played around with it a little bit, but it’s essentially the same.
So here it is: Barry’s broad beans with bacon and onion.
INGREDIENTS
600 grams broad beans, unshelled
1-2 rashers bacon, finely diced
1 onion, finely diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
Few sprigs parsley, chopped
Generous splash vermouth or white wine
1/4 cup water
Salt & pepper to taste
METHOD
Shell broad beans.
Heat up a small frypan. Add olive oil and then fry onion on medium heat for a couple of minutes, stirring regularly. Add bacon and continue cooking until bacon starts to brown. Add broad beans and mix thoroughly.
Add wine, parsley and water. Put lid on saucepan and turn heat down to low. Leave to simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Just before twenty minutes, remove the lid and turn the heat back up to help reduce any excess liquid. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper and serve immediately. Do not season prior to this otherwise the salt will cause the beans to toughen.
Serves 2-4 as a side dish.
