GROW YOUR OWN
photographs JONATHAN GREGSON
Emma Crawforth is a qualified horticulturist, trained at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and is the gardening editor for BBC Gardeners’ World. This month, advice on growing broad beans.
When the sun is shining in the summer months, it’s easy to feel a little guilty if you’re not spending all your spare time outside. But, even if you don’t have a lot of outside space, you can still enjoy the seasonal produce on offer. The broad bean pasta on page 102 is seasonal comfort in a bowl, making good use of broad beans’ best assets.
BROAD BEANS
Their vibrant green colour – often hidden away inside their grey-ish skins – and sweet, nutty flavour are a refreshing pairing with creamy ricotta and zesty lemon.
What to look for when broad beans are ready?
I prefer to peel broad beans, which seems like extra effort, but can be just about done in the time it takes the pasta to boil. To do this easily, squeeze the flesh out of the skins with gentle encouragement.
Pick as soon as the individual beans show in the pod, starting at the base of the plant. Young ones are more succulent. Take care if you’re pulling rather than cutting them, as it’s easy to tear the plant’s stem. You can harvest whole pods, but this is rarely worthwhile, as you’ll miss out on the formed beans.
There will be no judgement if you’d rather leave the skins on, but there will be a slightly bitter flavour and chewier texture. One of the biggest notable improvements when it comes to the summer months is the quality of tomatoes: there’s nothing quite like a ripe tomato eaten straight from the garden. My dad has been growing them for years, and provides the immediate family with a generous glut – my grandfather being the most satisfied consumer. I prefer to make the most of their flavour using them raw, especially with nduja, the spicy Calabrian spreadable pork sausage. While many of us struggle with the pronunciation of nduja, it’s luckily very easy to enjoy its flavour. I’ve used it as a base for the tomatoes in a twist on classic Italian bruschetta (p102). My grandfather would leave out everything but the bread, tomatoes and a generous sprinkling of salt, if he was making it.
What time of year are they grown?
If you don’t grow your own gooseberries, their season is incredibly short, usually from late-June to late-August. They’re not a very commonly eaten fruit (most likely due to their short season), so if you’re new to them, a pudding is a great way to give them a try. I’ve incorporated them into a cheesecake as it’s such a crowd-pleasing dessert (p103).