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| Climbing French Bean "Cobra" |
One of my favourite dishes made with the "Cobra" beans (any French beans, in fact) is a sort of Pasta
à la Geneovese:- pasta with new potatoes and beans, smothered in copious quantities of unctuous green Basil pesto. We'll be having this soon, I'm sure, because the first beans are "pickable" (though still small), and we still have home-grown new potatoes in profusion, not to mention a freezer full of pesto.
The first Runners only days away from maturity.
The first Runners only days away from maturity.
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| Runner bean |
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| Runner bean |
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| Runner bean |
They don't look very beautiful at this stage, do they, with the tatty old flower petals drooping off the ends? You have to think ahead to what they will look like in a few days time to appreciate their charm! In our house we often celebrate the first Runner beans of the year in much the same way as we do with the Asparagus. We slice the beans (removing any strings from the edges if necessary), boil them in lightly-salted water for a few minutes and serve them up accompanied only by some buttered brown bread (Oh, and a goodly amount of freshly-ground black pepper). They are delicious this way, and you can really appreciate their flavour without it being swamped by gravy, sauces, garlic etc. Actually, come to think of it, cooked Runner beans served whole, for eating with your fingers, with a bowl of Hollandaise sauce for dipping them in might be quite nice too!
The Broad Beans are still producing new pods as well. This has probably been my best year ever for Broad Beans.
On one plant alone I counted 16 pods forming - and if they reach maturity each of these will have 8 or so beans in it - easily enough for a two-person serving on just one plant then. I wish they were all that good! We love Broad Beans, although they are allegedly the UK's 2nd least-loved vegetable (after Brussels Sprouts).
In order to keep the bean harvest going later in the season, I sowed some more seeds this week - a couple of large pots of "Delinel" Dwarf French Beans. These were seeds left over from last year, so I just hope they will be OK. I'm also thinking I might cut my losses with the reluctant cucumber plants, and replace them with more beans...
P.S. We like beans, did that message come across OK?
My beans haven even bloomed yet, but they will soon... Can't wait!
ReplyDeleteWow you already know how to cook them before you harvest them :). I am always so clueless what I am going to do with my basketful of harvest;-). So many bloom and beans coming to your kitchen!
ReplyDeleteRunner beans - never tire of mountains of them, on their own except for melted butter.
ReplyDeleteLucy
Very productive broad bean plant! I've never had Pasta à la Geneovese, but it sure sounds good.
ReplyDeleteMark, you're full of beans! I like the way you have your first runner beans, so simple, yet delicious.
ReplyDeleteI eat my first bean from my garden yesterday. It was so delicious.
ReplyDeleteDid you say you liked beans? I like the red flowers... mine only flower light pink and violet.
ReplyDeleteMy beans are only just starting to flower. I sowed some more seeds a couple of weeks ago, hoping to extend the harvest. I like to stock my freezer up with beans ready for the winter months.
ReplyDeleteGreat pics :) Our Broad beans have gone mad this year too! We've had a few Runners already and a few Cobra and Cherokee, but this time last year we were harvesting daily.
ReplyDeleteI love runner beans and was practically weaned on them (my dad grows hundreds every year). I planted 3 in a pot this year as at the time we were in our old house and had very little space to grow and also we new our move was going ahead and didn't want to have to transport lots of pots. Next year I will grow many more!
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