We know it’s not broad bean season, but frozen broad beans are right up there with frozen peas as an excellent frozen veg and so we eat them all year round. This is a recipe from Summer Kitchens by Olia Hercules and the perfect side dish for fish (or indeed fishfingers if you’re avoiding the shops!). It’s different from our usual potatoes as we tend to add lots of Irish butter, we didn’t miss it here, though we did spread some on the potato skins – it would be a shame to waste them!
Crushed potatoes with broad beans – serves 4 as a side
- 350g baking potatoes, skins on
- 50g streaky bacon
- 4 scallions, thinly sliced
- 150g frozen broad beans
- 50g crème fraîche
- 1 tbsp chopped dill
Preheat the oven to 220C.
Bake the potatoes for 20 minutes, then turn the heat down to 200C and cook for 40 minutes to 1 an hour, until completely soft inside. You don’t need the skins but this method will give perfectly crispy skins that you can eat with a bit of butter and salt while you finish the dish.
Meanwhile, heat a splash of vegetable oil in a frying pan over a medium-low heat, add the bacon and fry until the fat starts to release. When it starts to crisp, add the scallions and cook for a few minutes to soften.
Cook the broad beans in a pan of salty boiling water for about 5 minutes, then drain.
Scoop the warm potato out of the skins and put into a saucepan over a very low heat. Add the beans and crush until smoothish, but still with a bit of texture. Stir in the crème fraîche and dill, then season generously with salt and black pepper.
Spoon the bacon and its fat over the dish and serve.
(Original recipe from Summer Kitchens by Olia Hercules, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2020.)
Jono & Jules do food & wine 
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