Broad beans help

[karohemd]

(cross-posted)
What do i do with broad beans? Do I shell them or cook them whole? How long do they take?

Many thanks for any suggestions.

ETA: Thanks for your help! I just steamed them for three minutes in the microwave and then added them to the pan with the rest of the stuff (see next post).

Comments

[whiskeylover.livejournal.com]

cook them whole (I usually add a pinch of sugar to the water)

normally takes about 10-15 minutes, but may be longer, depending on the individual beans.

[undyingking.livejournal.com]

Unless they've very very young and fresh, shell them. You can also take the grey skins off the beans themselves, if you find them slightly too bitter. If they're young they only need 5 minutes or so to cook, more if tough. They're nice just steamed (can then be mashed, if you skinned them), or sautéed, or in stew / risotto / etc...

[lineoutrecords.livejournal.com]

Shell them, boil them for about 10, leave to cool, bit of salad dressing and some salady bits, nice.

[kathminchin.livejournal.com]

Broad bean pods tend to be very furry inside so I would seriously recommend podding them. Cook like peas ;o)

[briggsy.livejournal.com]

Cook like peas - i.e., beans, not pod, but personally I can't stand Broad Beans unless they're cooked in a sauce of some type, a mint or parsley sauce perhaps.

[commlal.livejournal.com]

As I found to my cost last night :(

[colonel-maxim.livejournal.com]

Throw them away and buy a vegetable that does not taste of wallpaper paste.

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

they were rather good, actually.

[sesquipedality.livejournal.com]

I'd suggest throwing them in the bin and telling your Veg Box company "for the love of God, none of those satanic pulses!".

Of course, YMMV.

[the-mendicant.livejournal.com]

Carefully take them out of the bag, and place them in the compost bin, then find a use for the perfectly good bag!

[cabd.livejournal.com]

A lot of people have traumatic experiences with bad broad beans. They tend to be grown by old, old allotment gardeners who leave them on the plant till they're like wood. But when they're young and tender they're gorgeous, and as they're the first pulse of the year (excluding some early mange tout or peas if you've got away without the mice eating your early sowings!) they're rather special.

[kake]

From a quick squint at the interweb, it looks like a lot of people are overcooking them, too. 15-30 minutes! More like 3.

[cabd.livejournal.com]

Believe me, if you had some of the big, nasty woody things you see the old timers harvesting on our local allotments, you'd coom them for 15 minutes too! But when they're young and tender, all they need is some warming through really.

Alas, my own broad beans have come to and end for this year. Plenty of French beans at the moment though, and the runners aren't far off starting.