Don't just boil and serve fresh beans, get creative with a delightful salad

Published on Wednesday 24 June 2009 14:58

I realise that those words, green beans, cover a multitude of choice – French beans, broad beans and so on – but fresh green beans are such a major part of summer vegetable eating, and they can be prepared in such a variety of ways that they are worthy of their starring role in today's recipes.

The one thing I abhor (in relation to green bean or any other vegetable cooking) is last minute boiling and draining and serving. In the following recipes that never applies. Beware of overcooking, as that leaves beans grey-green and dulls their flavour.

Beans should be as young and therefore small, as possible. Green beans are as delicious cooked and cooled and served as salads as they are when served hot. And green beans need not be served very hot – for me, they fall into that bracket of foods which can be cooked, dressed and served warm without any deterioration in flavour whatsoever.

All vegetables taste better if they are eaten within a short time of being picked. If you don't grow your own, try buying from farmers' markets, or farm shops rather than from supermarkets. And, in the case of French beans, remove the stringy bits with a potato peeler. I then use scissors to chop the beans into even sized bits.

For cooking beans or any other vegetable with the sole exception of potatoes, I steam them, which I find better by far than boiling.

GREEN BEANS WITH PARMESAN CHEESE

This dish can be prepared in advance by several hours, only needing to be popped into a moderately hot oven to bake before eating. It dresses up any plain grilled, baked or barbecued meat, chicken or fish, in both a convenient and delicious way. A tomato salad is another good accompanying vegetable to complete the meal.

SERVES 6

11/2 lb/675g green beans, weighed when prepared

4oz/110g grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 pint/285ml double cream

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon anchovy essence, or 1 teaspoon Patum Peperium anchovy relish

about 15 grinds of black pepper

Prepare the beans by potato-peeling down each side to remove the stringy bits. Slice off each end of the bean, and chop into even sized bits – I suggest about 1cm – they look better sliced on the diagonal. Steam the prepared beans for no longer than two minutes, then tip on to a plastic tray and spread them out, to prevent further cooking.

Mix together the grated Parmesan, double cream, Dijon mustard and anchovy essence. Tip the cooled beans into an ovenproof dish, and spoon the creamy Parmesan mixture on them, spreading all over the surface.

Bake in a moderate heat, 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4, for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the surface is golden brown and bubbling gently.

If you worry that the beans may be slightly undercooked from their brief steaming, they complete their cooking as they bake.

GREEN BEAN AND TOMATO SALAD

Serves 6

1lb/450g green beans, weighed when prepared

6 tomatoes

1/2 small red onion, skinned and diced very finely

2 teaspoons fat capers, drained and rinsed from their white wine vinegar

finely grated rind of 1/2 lemon

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

juice of 1/2 lemon

1/2 teaspoon caster sugar

1 teaspoon salt

about 20 grinds of black pepper

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

Slice the ends off each bean, and potato-peel down each side, to remove the stringy bits. Slice the beans into even sized bits, on the diagonal, about 1 cm long. Steam the beans for three to four minutes, until when stuck with a fork they are as tender as you want them to be.

Wash and dry the tomatoes and slice each in half, then scoop away the seeds. Slice each tomato half into four thin slices. Skin the tomatoes first, if you really object to eating the skins.

Mix together the olive oil, red onion, capers, finely grated lemon rind and juice, the caster sugar, salt and black pepper and balsamic vinegar.

As soon as the beans are cooked, tip them into a serving bowl and mix in the dressing. As the beans cool they will absorb the flavours of the dressing. When they are cold, carefully mix in the prepared slivers of tomato.

This salad benefits from being made several hours before being eaten. This allows the tastes to mix and settle down together.

BROAD BEAN HAM AND WALNUT SALAD

This is a main course itself. The smaller the broad beans, the better.

SERVES 6

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 red onion, skinned and finely diced

4oz/110g walnuts

about 20 grinds of black pepper

finely grated rind of 1/2 lemon

11/2 lb/675g shelled broad beans, steamed for about three minutes, or until just tender when stuck with a fork. Cool

11/2 lb/675g cooked ham – I like to poach the ham with vegetables, to give me good stock for soup. I cool the ham in the stock to keep it succulent before lifting it out and slicing it into dice about 1cm in size. Alternatively, buy cooked ham – avoid the stuff which resembles shot silk, as that means it has been filled with preservatives, and buy only that which looks appealing, not slippery and damp. Slice into even sized strips – bought ham is always sold sliced, so dicing isn't possible

2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley (the taste of parsley is sublime combined with the ham and the broad beans)

Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and fry the diced red onion, stirring from time to time, for about five minutes over a moderate heat. Meanwhile, chop the walnuts and add them to the fried onion in the saucepan. Stir and fry for a further five minutes. Stir in the black pepper, and the lemon rind.

Mix the contents of the pan thoroughly into the cooled steamed broad beans. Allow the beans to cool again – only a matter of a few minutes – before carefully mixing in the sliced or diced ham.

Arrange in a bowl or a serving plate, and cover thickly with the finely chopped parsley. If you prefer, you can fold the chopped parsley through the mixture at the same time as adding the ham. This looks pretty served surrounded by mixed salad leaves.GREEN BEANS WITH PARMESAN CHEESE

This dish can be prepared in advance by several hours, only needing to be popped into a moderately hot oven to bake before eating. It dresses up any plain grilled, baked or barbecued meat, chicken or fish, in both a convenient and delicious way. A tomato salad is another good accompanying vegetable to complete the meal.

SERVES 6

11/2 lb/675g green beans, weighed when prepared

4oz/110g grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 pint/285ml double cream

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon anchovy essence, or 1 teaspoon Patum Peperium anchovy relish

about 15 grinds of black pepper

Prepare the beans by potato-peeling down each side to remove the stringy bits. Slice off each end of the bean, and chop into even sized bits – I suggest about 1cm – they look better sliced on the diagonal. Steam the prepared beans for no longer than two minutes, then tip on to a plastic tray and spread them out, to prevent further cooking.

Mix together the grated Parmesan, double cream, Dijon mustard and anchovy essence. Tip the cooled beans into an ovenproof dish, and spoon the creamy Parmesan mixture on them, spreading all over the surface.

Bake in a moderate heat, 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4, for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the surface is golden brown and bubbling gently.

If you worry that the beans may be slightly undercooked from their brief steaming, they complete their cooking as they bake.

GREEN BEAN AND TOMATO SALAD

Serves 6

1lb/450g green beans, weighed when prepared

6 tomatoes

1/2 small red onion, skinned and diced very finely

2 teaspoons fat capers, drained and rinsed from their white wine vinegar

finely grated rind of 1/2 lemon

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

juice of 1/2 lemon

1/2 teaspoon caster sugar

1 teaspoon salt

about 20 grinds of black pepper

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

Slice the ends off each bean, and potato-peel down each side, to remove the stringy bits. Slice the beans into even sized bits, on the diagonal, about 1 cm long. Steam the beans for three to four minutes, until when stuck with a fork they are as tender as you want them to be.

Wash and dry the tomatoes and slice each in half, then scoop away the seeds. Slice each tomato half into four thin slices. Skin the tomatoes first, if you really object to eating the skins.

Mix together the olive oil, red onion, capers, finely grated lemon rind and juice, the caster sugar, salt and black pepper and balsamic vinegar.

As soon as the beans are cooked, tip them into a serving bowl and mix in the dressing. As the beans cool they will absorb the flavours of the dressing. When they are cold, carefully mix in the prepared slivers of tomato.

This salad benefits from being made several hours before being eaten. This allows the tastes to mix and settle down together.

BROAD BEAN HAM AND WALNUT SALAD

This is a main course itself. The smaller the broad beans, the better.

SERVES 6

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 red onion, skinned and finely diced

4oz/110g walnuts

about 20 grinds of black pepper

finely grated rind of 1/2 lemon

11/2 lb/675g shelled broad beans, steamed for about three minutes, or until just tender when stuck with a fork. Cool

11/2 lb/675g cooked ham – I like to poach the ham with vegetables, to give me good stock for soup. I cool the ham in the stock to keep it succulent before lifting it out and slicing it into dice about 1cm in size. Alternatively, buy cooked ham – avoid the stuff which resembles shot silk, as that means it has been filled with preservatives, and buy only that which looks appealing, not slippery and damp. Slice into even sized strips – bought ham is always sold sliced, so dicing isn't possible

2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley (the taste of parsley is sublime combined with the ham and the broad beans)

Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and fry the diced red onion, stirring from time to time, for about five minutes over a moderate heat. Meanwhile, chop the walnuts and add them to the fried onion in the saucepan. Stir and fry for a further five minutes. Stir in the black pepper, and the lemon rind.

Mix the contents of the pan thoroughly into the cooled steamed broad beans. Allow the beans to cool again – only a matter of a few minutes – before carefully mixing in the sliced or diced ham.

Arrange in a bowl or a serving plate, and cover thickly with the finely chopped parsley. If you prefer, you can fold the chopped parsley through the mixture at the same time as adding the ham. This looks pretty served surrounded by mixed salad leaves.