Broadbean Houmous

Broad bean Houmous & Vegan Mofo Day 7

For my second Broad Bean recipe during Vegan Mofo I'm going to share with you my Broad Bean Houmous. It's delicious scooped up with crackers or if you're like me straight from the food processor!

Ingredients
235g Broad beans, shelled
3-4 Cloves of garlic, peeled
2 Tbsp Lemon juice
2 Tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
4 Tsp Tahini sauce*
Salt & Pepper

* I use Tahine sauce rather than Tahini paste in this recipe as I don't want to drown out the taste of the beans but if you haven't got any tahini sauce you could use 2 Tsp of Tahini paste for similar results.


Method
Cook the beans and the garlic in boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain the beans and remove the outer skin.

Add the beans and garlic to a food processor and pulse until finely chopped.

Add the rest of the ingredients and process until you have a smooth puree.

In my last Broad Bean post I said that I would share some growing tips with you. All is not lost if you have missed out on my broad bean recipes, as you can sow broad beans as late as October for an early May harvest. I've not done that myself before but I'm giving it a go this year. 

A late sowing is best suited to southern facing gardens which are sheltered, but all is not lost if you aren't in this situation. Just remember to fleece or cloche your plants in cold areas or during a bad winter. Beans sown in October should take around 4 weeks to germinate and these will over winter and start to grow again as the weather warms up. By May you will have beans ready for the picking.

If you don't fancy taking your chances over winter then you will need to sow your beans in doors from February onwards. As soon as the plants have established themselves start putting them outside during the day to 'harden off'. Don't forget to protect them though if frosts are a problem by either bringing them back in doors or using cloches or fleeces.

You don't need any fancy equipment to protect your plants, I've used old quilt covers, table cloths and old net curtains before now!

A mixture of cloches and fleeces

Cloche tunnel and bought fleece

Old table cloth and quilt cover do the job just as well

Top tips I have found for a good crop of broad beans include:

• Prepare the soil before planting, good soil needs nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium to assist in the growing of your vegetables. I find that my own compost works a treat, which is vegetable peelings, tea leaves, garden matter and leaves. But well rotten leaves work a treat too.
• At the end of your harvest dig the roots into your soil as they are rich in nitrogen.
• As in my problem this year, protect young plants from mice, I used toilet rolls to do this and it worked fine.
• Water well, especially in dry spells, these plants are thirsty, but don't over water as this can rot your plants.
• Stake the plants to protect them from blowing over in bad weather
• Protect from cold weather or during bad winters with fleeces (see above)
• Pick regularly to promote new growth 

If you have any questions on how to grow broad beans please don't hesitate to get in touch I don't confess to being an expert but I have learnt from my own mistakes and I am willing to share the knowledge I have gained.

Here's a few snaps of my beans at various growing times.

Mice protection - plastic bottle cloches, toilet roll barriers and netting!

In bloom - not long now!

Here they are!

Garden in full swing

Picked and ready to cook