Award-winning food writer Felicity Cloake has published a new recipe for a Spanish broad bean stew, asserting that this 'simple Spanish classic' has the potential to sway even the most ardent 'fava-phobics'. The recipe, part of her popular 'How to make the perfect…' series, seeks to elevate the often-overlooked broad bean.
Cloake articulates a degree of sympathy for broad beans, describing them as the 'lumpy cousin perpetually overshadowed by the charms of slender, elegant asparagus and sweet, bouncy, little peas'. She notes that while broad beans are in season concurrently with these more celebrated vegetables, asparagus in particular 'gets all the glory'.
The journalist suggests that many people's aversion to broad beans stems from negative childhood culinary experiences. She references her own past encounters with 'large, grey wrinkly beans served in a floury white sauce', a common preparation that may have contributed to their unpopularity.
By presenting a Spanish-inspired preparation, Cloake aims to offer a fresh perspective on the ingredient. The recipe is designed to showcase the broad bean in a more appealing light, moving away from traditional, less flavourful methods that may have deterred consumers in the past.