THE GOOD OIL MILL
AT YOUR HOME
Spring: the flowers strat blooming but, always following the seasonality, the vegetable gardens are also filled with fresh products and, from May to July, the main seasonal protagonists are the broad beans.
Important pillars of healthy and sustainable nutrition, broad beans differ from other legumes due to the particularity of being able to be consumed raw, so as to be able to savor all their sweetness; in fact, raw broad beans are rich in fibre, iron, vitamin C and folic acid. Without forgetting that fresh raw broad beans promote the proper functioning of the intestine, are beneficial for the kidneys and urinary system and help to regulate sugar levels in the blood.
But there is more, even for the greediest and hungriest, it is useful to know that fresh broad beans differ from dried broad beans in terms of carbohydrate and protein content and therefore it is possible to indulge in a larger portion than the classic weight from standard food lines. However, excellent in all its forms, broad beans can also be found all year round, cooked, frozen or dried.
Therefore, given that there are no excuses for not including broad beans in our diet, we thought we would share with you 3 broad bean salad ideas paired with our extra virgin olive oil, simple, tasty and above all seasonal side dishes or main courses.
If you decide to use dried broad beans you have to remember to soak them the night before, as it is usual with any other dry legume; fresh broad beans, on the other hand, those just removed from the pod, can be cooked without any soaking.
If, however, you suffer from abdominal swelling or poor digestion but you just can’t do without broad bean salads, it is therefore advisable to buy dried, hulled broad beans or manually remove the outer skin, blanch the fresh fava beans for 5 minutes and then pass them under a jet of cold water.
Ingredients for 4 people
• 375g of cooked broad beans
• Half a clove of garlic
• Mint to taste
• Feta to taste
• Extra virgin olive oil to taste.
• Vinegar, salt and pepper to taste.
Preparation
1. Place the already cooked broad beans in a salad bowl and add chopped garlic and wild mint leaves to taste
2. Leave to flavor and then add the rest of the seasoning ingredients such as vinegar, salt, pepper and extra virgin olive oil.
3. To add a touch of freshness and transform our broad bean salad into a delicate single dish, we recommend adding pieces of feta.
4. Mix well and serve with hot bread or cereal grains such as spelt, barley or buckwheat.
The Bonamini olive oil recommended to finish and define this broad bean salad recipe is our Vert De Vertes – an extra virgin produced with only green olives, an extra virgin olive oil that is green in color and taste, capable of giving greater freshness and aroma to this recipe of seasoned broad beans,
Ingredients
• 400g of hulled broad beans
• 250g of flaked pecorino cheese
• 1 clove of garlic
• Extra virgin olive oil to taste.
• Aromatic spices and salt to taste.
Preparation
1. After removing the skin from the fresh broad beans, place them in a bowl and flavor them with chopped garlic and the chosen aromatic spices, which can be mint, thyme, parsley or basil.
2. Add the pecorino flakes and season with olive oil, salt and pepper to taste.
3. Serve the broad bean and pecorino salad while still fresh with slices of traditional bruschetta-like bread.
The Bonamini extra virgin olive oil chosen to accompany this recipe is one of our best sellers extra virgin olive oils: Santa Giustina olive oil – appreciated for its aromatic strength, this extra virgin oil if added raw in the end creates harmony and synchrony in the mouth, that you can’t do without.
• We conclude our TOP 3 with a recipe with broad beans that includes another important seasonal and home product here at Frantoio Bonamini: asparagus. In fact, we want to offer a delicious salad of broad beans, asparagus and bacon, a tasty combination with soft textures that balance each other well.
Ingredients
• 1 bunch of green asparagus
• 300g of fresh, already cleaned broad beans
• 6 artichoke hearts in extra virgin olive oil
• 100g of bacon cut into slices
• Extra virgin olive oil to taste.
• Salt and Pepper To Taste.
Preparation
1. To prepare this broad bean salad recipe, start by cleaning and washing the asparagus, taking care to remove the end of the stem.
2. Boil some water, add salt and add the fresh broad beans for about 5 minutes.
3. After 5 minutes, add the asparagus to the cooked broad beans and continue cooking for another 5 minutes and drain everything.
4. Cut the segments of the crunchy artichoke hearts in Bonamini extra virgin olive oil and cut the bacon into strips.
5. Then combine all the ingredients such as fresh cooked broad beans, asparagus, artichoke segments and bacon in a serving dish.
6. Emulsify the chosen extra virgin olive oil with salt and pepper and season the broad bean salad just before serving it.
For such a complex dish, rich in flavors and colours, we could only choose an equally structured Bonamini extra virgin olive oil and also our flagship: PDO Veneto Valpolicella. An elegant and refined extra virgin olive oil, capable of finding uses in everyone’s cuisine and above all in combination with dishes of a certain depth such as broad bean salads.
