Sunday’s Confessions of the Homely Kind.

/ moragnoffke

I must confess I have never eaten broad beans (also known as fava beans) before today. I knew very little about broad beans even when I started taking vegetable gardening more seriously here in Scotland. I’m a serious amateur vegetable grower and I still have a long way to go as I am starting from the bottom. I’m sure my expertise will grow alongside the knowledge and practice I acquire. It may take the rest of my life.

Thoughts on Growing vegetables, and in Particular, Broad Beans.

In Scotland we need plants which stand up to the cold and gales. With this in mind I decided to plant perennial crops, to start off, which are both productive and resilient. ‘Plant once and harvest for years’ sounded like a good idea. I chose broad beans thinking they are perennial as one of those plants. But I discovered that Broad beans are annuals, which are frost hardy, and so here in Scotland we can sow them in spring and autumn. The Autumn crop can overwinter and produce more beans the next summer.

Reading online gardening tips can get overwhelming with all the good advice, for example,    ‘plant beans, corn and squash together as beans can use the corn as a bean stick to grow up; the bean’s roots grow much deeper that squash and corn; while the squash rambles around the ground keeping the soil cool and moist.’  

I decided, as a complete novice, just to grow broad beans, French runner beans and squash. I wasn’t confident about growing corn here in Scotland so I used bamboo sticks for supporting the beans, which were acquired from my garden.’

Growing and Harvesting Broad Beans.

I bought the seedlings from our local vegetable fair so all I had to do was pop them into fertile soil. I watered and waited.  It’s been about 6 weeks when I found lovely big bean pods. You have to bear in mind everything is relative as I have never grown broad beans; so I didn’t know how big they get before harvesting. All I knew was ‘the more you harvest the more beans are produced.’

I enthusiastically harvested them but when I podded them most of the beans were the size of young peas with a few bigger pods producing bigger beans. I realize now that I harvested too soon but the beans were tasty enough.  

Cooking Broad Beans

As I had no idea how to prepare them I looked on the internet for some advice. I also asked a cousin how she prepares them. The information was conflicting so I decided to go along with my cousin’s idea of podding (shelling?) them and frying in a little olive oil, garlic and pepper. We ate them with our roast chicken and other vegetables and it was delicious.

A Little History of the Broad Bean

The Broad bean has been around since Neolithic times; they found remains at the Jordan Valley showing domestication since 8250BCE.  They were also used in the Mediterranean, such as Egypt, Greece and the Romans.

From the Middle Ages till present, Europe ate dried and fresh broad beans. They are a good source of protein, fibre and carbohydrates. Broad beans can survive through cold winters (good for Scotland) and is a great plant for enriching the soil with nitrogen which is handy for growing other vegetables.     

In the Middle East they are known as fava beans. When the French, Runner and Kidney beans were introduced to Europe, by the Spanish, from the Americas in the 1500s the broad bean was not the favourite – yet in the UK you will still find that it is grown in allotment gardens and is part of the diet. Generally, in other places, broad beans are considered fodder for animals or food for the poor.

This last fact made me think of my mother who used to make a bean dish from runner beans, potatoes, onions and bacon on days when we had nothing else to eat.

I wonder how many of you know of broad beans and how to prepare them? If you have any experience or ideas I welcome your thoughts and suggestions.

Have a happy week

-Morag Noffke-

20 thoughts on “Sunday’s Confessions of the Homely Kind.”

  1. Thank you for this informative gardening update, Morag. I did not know that beans could be perennial plants! It might be wise for all of us to become gardeners as our climate — and the global economy — swing more and more widely to and fro… PS: The idea of planting beans, corn and squash together was some indigenous wisdom, I think, from the Americas.

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    • You are correct in questioning whether they are perennial. I checked and they are not perennial. That’s my mistake. They are frost hardy so one can make two sowings, here in Scotland, one in spring and one in autumn. The autumn crop can overwinter and produce more beans in May again. I will have to see if that works for me.
      I’m sorry for the confusion. I Will have to correct that. It’s wonderful that we can still learn from indigenous wisdom, thank you for adding to this post. I appreciate it.🙏💟

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    • Oh I forgot to say that I agree I also think it is wise to try to grow our own food… although it’s challenging starting from scratch. I hope it is worth the effort 😄

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  3. Love this, Morag — such an honest and encouraging grower’s journey. Broad beans are perfect for Scotland, and you’re right: picking too early just means tender, sweet “baby” beans. Try leaving a few pods to get chunky and leathery next time — those are great for stews. Sautéed with garlic and olive oil is a classic, and the young leaves are edible too. Keep going, your expertise is already growing alongside the beans 🌱

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  4. I haven’t tried growing beans yet, Morag, so I find it interesting to read about your experience with the process. I think it may be too hot here (although I may try a fall crop). I tend to stick with tomatoes and peppers, although I’ve had good luck with Japanese eggplant this year (I’m eating it at least three times a week!).

    I hope your garden continues to grow and thrive! 🌿

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  5. I can relate to so much of your neophite gardening experience. My growing conditions here in Idaho, (USA) are quite the opposite of yours. Our plants must endure ever worsening hot, dry summers.
    My initiation into fava beans came from the infamous quote from Hannibal Lecter in the gruesome 90s thriller, Silence of the Lambs, “I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti.” I’d never heard of fava beans and the line was so shocking that it stuck with me. I didn’t actually run into a fava bean until I began volunteering at my local farmers market during the pandemic. When mature, they are definitely a rather scary bean. I found them to be a good deal of work for the small, but tasty reward. 
    Fun post.

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    • Aye, I can relate to hot and dry… I originally come from South Africa where there are often droughts. I think that’s why I am struggling with the change of conditions so much. I have heard good and bad reports with broad beans. We’ll see how I get on with them over time.
      Thank you for visiting my post and the follow .

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