Perhaps it’s just me, but I really think there’s something about being able to buy your vegetables fresh from a stall or market. (Well I would prefer if I just grew them all myself in my back garden, but since that’s very small and has recently been taken over by pet rabbits, I don’t think that’s going to happen any time soon). This is why I was really pleased to see that Din Baghave (translation: Your Back Garden) have decided to open their vegetable stall just down the road from where we live. It’s not that you can’t normally buy vegetables around here, you can, the difference here is that everything is locally & organically grown and, if you’re lucky, you’ll be treated to a trip down memory lane.
Part of Din Baghave’s philosophy is to surprise its customers by offering produce that people wouldn’t expect them to have, might have forgotten existed or have been longing for. This is kind of what happened to me. I noticed one day that they were selling broad beans – I was immediately blasted with a wave of nostalgia. The broad bean was frequently a visitor to my plate when I was growing up, as my Dad used to, and still does, grow them in the garden. I’ve never seen them in any of the supermarkets or green grocers here and have only ever been able to get hold of them at Esrum Abbey, about an hour’s drive away. (I’m not so obsessed that I went there especially to get them, I just happened to be there :)
Here’s a few snaps I took (with my phone) last Saturday, followed by a recipe using broad beans.
Recipe: Broad Beans with Lemon & Thyme Vinaigrette
1kg broad beans (in their pods)
1 packet bacon
Dressing
3 tablespoons cold-pressed rapeseed (canola) oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/2 clove garlic, grated
1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon honey
handful fresh thyme, chopped
salt & pepper
Remove the beans from their pods. Bring a pan of salted water to the boil. Cook the beans for approx. 5 minutes, or until soft. When they are cooked, drain them and run the cold water over them for a minute or so.
Grill the bacon until crisp.
Whizz up the dressing ingredients in a blender.
Place the beans in a bowl and pour the dressing over them. Top with the bacon, either in crispy slices or chopped.
