I love green beans so much, especially in summer, that I’ve decided to squeeze in anextra dish this week and let the recipes speak for themselves.
Green beans with peanuts and lime
Use any fresh, seasonal beans: string beans, fine beans, romano beans, yellow beans, mangetout – adjust the cooking times depending on the bean. I serve this hot here, but it’s also lovely at room temperature –add the lime, peanuts and coriander just before serving, though. Serves six.
1 small Chinese cabbage, cut widthways into 4cm-thick slices (600g)
300g sugar snaps
300g french beans, trimmed
300g runner beans, trimmed, fibrous threads removed and cut into 5cm pieces
3 tbsp groundnut oil
40g peanuts (skin on or off), chopped
2 shallots, finely chopped (100g)
5cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
4 sticks lemongrass, trimmed and finely chopped
5 kaffir lime leaves, finely sliced
Zest of 1 lime shaved off in thick pieces
½ tsp white peppercorns, crushed
1 tsp coriander seeds, crushed
Salt
10g coriander leaves, roughly chopped
2 tsp lime juice
Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Blanch the cabbage for 20 seconds, lift out with a slotted spoon, refresh under cold water and drain. Add the sugar snaps, french beans and runner beans to the boiling water and cook for four minutes, until cooked but still with some bite. Drain and refresh under cold water. The cabbage and beans need to be dry, so pat them down with a clean tea towel.
Heat the oil in a large saute pan on a medium-high flame, then fry the peanuts for one to two minutes, until golden brown. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and drain on aplate lined with kitchen paper.
Add the shallots, ginger, garlic, lemongrass, lime leaves, lime zest, pepper, coriander seeds and three-quarters of a teaspoon of salt to the hot pan and fry on low-medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring every now and then, until golden brown. Discard the lime zest, then add the beans and cabbage to the pan. Stir-fry for two minutes, until everything is combined and the vegetables are hot. Off the heat, stir in the coriander, peanuts and lime juice, and serve.
Green beans with wasabi and shiso
I love the fiery wasabi in this dressing, but start with less if you don’t like it quite so hot; you can always add more to taste. If you can’t get shiso, just double the amount of mint. Serves four as a side dish.
100g frozen edamame
150g garden peas, fresh or frozen
200g broad beans, fresh or frozen
100g sugar snaps, cut on an angle into 2mm-thick slices
2 spring onions, thinly sliced on an angle
15g coriander leaves, roughly chopped
5g small mint leaves, picked
4 shiso leaves, finely shredded (or another 5g mint leaves)
2 tsp black sesame seeds
2 tbsp baby (or micro) coriander leaves (optional)
For the wasabi dressing
2 tsp wasabi paste
2cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped (10g)
1 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tsp mirin
1 tbsp groundnut oil
Finely grated zest of 1 small lime
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
Salt
Put all the dressing ingredients in abowl with a third of a teaspoon ofsalt, and whisk to combine.
Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil, add the edamame and peas, and blanch for a minute. Transfer to a colander with a slotted spoon, refresh under cold water and tip into a large bowl. Add the broad beans to the boiling water, blanch for a minute, then drain, refresh, peel and add to the bowl. Add the remaining salad ingredients apart from the baby coriander, pour over the dressing, toss and serve sprinkled with coriander, if using.
Braised new potatoes with broad beans and pink peppercorns
Add the lemon juice just before serving, otherwise the beans will lose that vibrant green colour. Serves six.
900g very small new potatoes (if more than 3cm wide, cut in half or quarter)
10g thyme sprigs
10g mint sprigs
2 bay leaves
2 strips lemon peel, plus 2 tsp juice
1 large garlic clove, peeled and crushed with the back of a knife
1 tbsp olive oil
20g unsalted butter
500ml vegetable stock
Salt and black pepper
3 large spring onions, trimmed and cut into 3cm pieces
1 tsp pink peppercorns, lightly crushed
250g broad beans (fresh or frozen), blanched for two minutes, drained andskinned
Put the potatoes in a large saute pan for which you have a lid. Tie together the thyme, mint, bay leaves and lemon strips with string, and add to the pan with the garlic, oil, butter, stock, half a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of black pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium, cover and simmer for 12 minutes until the potatoes are almost cooked. Take off the lid, increase the heat to high and cook for 10 minutes more, until there’s just a bit of sticky sauce left in the bottom of the pan. Remove and discard the herb bundle.
Add the spring onion to the pan and cook gently for two to three minutes, stirring frequently and crushing some of the potatoes as you go, until caramelised. Remove from the heat, stir in the crushed pink peppercorns, broad beans and lemon juice, and serve.
Spring vegetables with lemonbéchamel
This dish pulls off the neat trick of being both light and comforting. It’s perfect with roast chicken. Serves six as a side dish.
200g podded broad beans, fresh orfrozen
650g charlotte or Jersey royal potatoes
60ml olive oil
Salt and black pepper
2 leeks, cut in half lengthways, then into 7cm pieces
7 baby courgettes, cut in half lengthways
230g asparagus, woody ends trimmed
100g sugar snap peas, cut in half lengthways
2 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
5g tarragon leaves, roughly chopped
10g mint leaves, roughly shredded
For the lemon béchamel sauce
40g unsalted butter
40g plain flour
300ml whole milk
2 egg yolks
3 strips shaved lemon skin, plus 2tbsp lemon juice
50g parmesan, finely grated
Start with the béchamel. Put the butter and flour in a small saucepan on a medium-low heat. Stir for two to three minutes, until the butter has melted into the flour and the mixture comes together into a paste.Gradually add the milk to the roux, whisking continuously until smooth and combined, then add the egg yolks, lemon skin and an eighth of a teaspoon of salt. Whisk for a further six to seven minutes, until thick and smooth, then take off the heat, stir in the lemon juice and half of the parmesan, and cover with clingfilm: you want the film to touch the surface of the sauce so it prevents askin from forming.
Heat the oven to 220C/425F/gas mark 7. Bring a medium saucepan of salted water to a boil, then blanch the broad beans for a minute. Scoop out the beans with a slotted spoon and transfer to a bowl of cold water to stop them cooking. Add the potatoes to the boiling water and cook for 15 minutes, until the tip of a sharp knife goes in easily, then drain.
Drain and peel the beans. Put the potatoes in a large bowl and lightly crush them with the back of a spoon. Mix in two tablespoons of oil, a third of a teaspoon of salt and plenty of pepper, and spread out on a large, high-sided roasting tray or ovenproof dish that you’re happy to bring to the table, ideally one measuring 30cm x40cm. Roast for 10 minutes, until just starting to brown.
Mix the leeks with a tablespoon of oil, an eighth of ateaspoon of salt and plenty of pepper. Stir through the potatoes and roast for five minutes. Mix the courgette, asparagus, sugar snaps and garlic with a tablespoon of oil, a quarter-teaspoon of salt and plenty of pepper. Stir through the potatoes and leeks until everything is evenly distributed and roast for another five minutes.
Sprinkle the broad beans over the top, spoon on the béchamel (discard the lemon skin at this stage) and sprinkle with the remaining parmesan. Roast for a final 10 minutes, until golden brown on top, sprinkle over the tarragon and mint, and serve at once.
