Reading a beautiful recipe over at Cooking in Sens which involved broad beans stimulated a craving for those little green beauties. Back home in Andalucía right now I would normally just pop out into our veggie garden and pick me a basket full. I haven’t seen any here in England yet but they do have excellent frozen broad bean pods.
I decided to make a little dish with echoes of home as a pretty substantial tapas which we enjoyed with some lovely crusty bread from my dad’s Italian baker pal, wine from a recent jaunt over the channel to France, juice from some of our lemons that Big Man bought back recently and locally reared pork. You can’t say we don’t embrace all that is available to us!
Ingredients as a main course for one or starters for two
- 1 cup of broad beans cooked until tender and drained
- 2 thin slices of pork belly cooked on the griddle until browned and cut into small pieces (or use bacon or lardons, or mushrooms for a vegetarian version)
- 1 avocado cut into small chunks
- Olive oil
- The grated rind of one lemon and the juice of half
- Sweet pimentón
- Salt & Pepper
- Chopped parsley to finish (I didn’t have any but I think it would be perfect)
Mix together the still warm beans, pork and avocado. Add the lemon rind, about 2 tablespoons of olive oil (more if necessary) and the lemon juice. Season with the pimentón, salt and pepper and mix again. That’s it. Tricky wasn’t it?!
Chica Andaluza 
Sadly they don’t seem to like it in England until summer 😦
I’ve noticed 😦 but the frozen pods are pretty tasty!
How delicious! I do love pork belly and here, the fava bean, doesn’t arrive until summer. Although I can find them frozen. Love this recipe Chica… going on my weekend to make list. 🙂
I think I spotted them frozen in Mercadona and with some pancetta…well, a little changes from habas con jamon!
What an amazing feast for the senses and for the eyes! I love that you used avocado as well to link the texture and meaty quality of the beans to the soft belly pork. I could make this without the pork and could sub some big meaty mushrooms sauted in olive oil which should give me a rough approximation of the texture. This is a real triumph of a recipe that is making me drool at 5.23am! Not an easy feat I can tell you! Kudos on using what is local and what “was” local where you visited (bring it back still makes it “local” 😉 ) to bring this wonderful meal together. That’s what it is all about…finding what is around, and turning it into something memorable and scrumptious…you win! 🙂
Ah, thanks for such a great comment. Funnily enough, a few seconds after hitting “publish” I remember thinking that I should have added something in about using mushrooms instead of pork for a vegetarian version…yummmm! And it’s one of those dishes which is good hot, cold or at room temperature so you can’t lose! Would be good too stirred into rice or over pasta I think. Will investigate further 🙂
I think that there is something strange about drooling over an evening meal before 6am! 😉 You have the basis there for all kinds of amazing leftovers meals. On bruschetta…with some amazing stock to make a kind of thick soup, the list is endless 🙂 Cheers for another unctuous recipe that is full of possibilities like all your recipes are 🙂
Nothing strange at all – I dream food!
Lol!
there is somethng wonderful about using local and own grown. I’m not a pork person but you’re dead right about substituting mushrooms. Yum.
Yes, am thinking the mushrooms would add a good deep flavour!
Hurrah for local produce…in the current climate its even more important!
So right, so right!
Thanks, Tanya, for reminding me to get the ground ready for planting the broad beans this year. I missed out in the last two years. This is one vegetable that both of us in this household loves.
Yes, you must be getting close to that time of year and it’s good when it’s a veggie you both enjoy (unlike carrots)!
Looks so yummy! Thinking of fresh beans of ANY kind seems so far away…
It’s snowing. Again.
Thank goodness for frozen!
Oh no, more snow! You good freeze anything you like right now 😉 just pop outside and stick it in the snow!
Love broad beans but not so fussed on belly pork. I’d have to be extravagant and use pork steaks, but it does look good.
Or bacon…(if you like that)….
It looks tricky , as you sad!
Thank you for this easy,inspiring and inviting treat!
Ciao!
You’re welcome! No time right now for complicated, so most of what I am doing is very easy 🙂
Lol
Oh, I just love pork belly – but as it is not on my list of healthy foods, I limit myself. Yet, this makes me want to jump right in. At least it has lots of veg 🙂
You don’t need much pork belly for this and as you griddle it, you can drain off the fat…..well, that’s my excuse!
Am not a stranger to a dish like that – well, I wasn’t until I reached the inclusion of avocado. This is new to me and absolutely have to try next time around: both taste and textures sound great 🙂 !
Yes, we eat variations of this in Spain but without avocado…just thought I’d throw it into the mix and it was lovely!
Sounds delicious! Love broad beans and recipes that are so adaptable!
Add in whatever you have to hand!
Hi Chica,
I love the combination of BB and lardons, but never thupught of adding Advocado…great idea! Do you taje the skun off the beans after cooking?
You also mention you would have them in your horta now…I have massess of flowers on my beans but no pods or beans. We’ve had a great combination of rain and sun, but I can’t understand why flowers not producing beans. Did you ever have that problem?
Yes, we’re big avocado fans here so I use it often. I personally don’t take the skins off as the pods were young and tender. Also, I can’t usually be bothered. It does look prettier though with that lovely vibrant green. Maybe I’m being a bit over optimistic thinking we’d had them now…maybe a few weeks more but our horta/huerto is walled and very sheltered so they’re usually early. Sometimes if you have a frost (which fortunately we never do) the flowers freeze and then don’t produce beans 😦 Do you think that may be the problem?
Ah if they are in sheltered position, yes. We’ve had flowers for ages, but I can’t see any beans! No don’t get frost here, in fact, the temps this year have not been down below 5C at night. When I read your post it made me worry more about my beans…flipping things will proabably produce when we are out of the country!
Don’t worry, even if they grow big while you are away, they can be the ones that you slip out of their skins or turn into broad bean patties!
Ooo, think that would pass as a starter for just me – piggy that I am, although being such a well semi good girl with the weight loss regime, I would share it.
🙂 Mandy xo
Yes, this was a starter for us…although the main was light if I remember!
Picard, the wonderful French frozen food chain, has the best small, peeled broad beans, some of which I have in my freezer. I also have some Serrano ham, so guess what I’m going to do.
Perfect…and unless you can eat freshly picked frozen are pretty much fresher than anything else (I know, I worked for those very famous pea people!)
You and your broad beans. Looks fantastic.
I know, 101 ways to cook a broad bean…. 😉
I think someone answered my question about broad beans in that they’re called favas also, correct? This dish looks so wonderful and comforting, and I love that it can be a tapas, too. Would never have thought about the combo with avocado, but am sure it adds not only flavor but compliments the creaminess of the bean. Beautiful!
Yes, I should have said, favas! And the avocado was just a little indulgence as we love it and the colours matched 🙂
I don’t know how tricky, Tanya, but I bet it tastes magical. 😉
I’ve asked Zia and she never cooked broad beans. They were served raw or in salads. but never cooked. Maybe I should surprise her with one of your recipes. Well, surprise us both. I’ve never had them cooked, either. 🙂
How interesting but thinking back, in Italy I probably only ever ate them raw. We love our broad beans and use them in lots of recipes!
There is always clamoring for pork belly in the finca household, but I am running out of ways to serve it! This looks like a fantastic recipe – which I will be adopting pretty soonish!
Can recommend this as an all in one dish = meat and veg, all in one dish!
I love avocados! This sounds yummy!
Us too, a big favourite in this home!
Wow Tanya! Qué rico y fácil, me encanta 🙂 lo voy a hacer muy pronto!
Y muy parecido a las habas con jamon!
Favas for tapas sounds brilliant Tanya! I can barely imagine what a joy it would be to step outside to your vegetable garden when the mood for favas strikes…but I’d sure like to find out.
You can come and pick a basket whenever you like!
Oh, what a nice way to use what’s available around you. This dish sounds wonderful. I love the pork belly in your recipe. 🙂
Thank you for you lovely comment and for stopping by!
This sounds perfectly delicious 🙂
Can highly recommend it!
Delicious – and it looks great in the earthenware dish, a real taste and sight of home!
Yes, I remembered to pack one on the last trip to Spain!
interesting dish…
mach the roasted pork belly with avocado sound great!
not so sinsfully dish..
Bad fat with a good fat in one bowl……
Love it – bad fat with good fat!