"Grow Your Own": Broad Beans

As a cook I consistently try to use top quality ingredients. A rather famous TV chef once said to me - "You're only as good as your ingredients, Ed. I can't make a joyous meal out of tinned spaghetti and frozen prawns..." - and that simply confirmed to me what I already felt. Growing up in Carmarthenshire, I was lucky to be surrounded by fantastic local produce. The area is historically associated with livestock, and in particular lamb, but we also have the most amazing pork products, some award winning cheeses, access to the Irish Sea as well as inland rivers that are (relatively) brimming with Salmon and Trout. You could easily eat for the rest of your life out of one small part of west Wales. So why we're importing lamb from New Zealand, I have no idea.

Of course there are certain things we don't produce in abundance, but that's where the green fingers come out and you start to grow your own. I'm not going to get completely sanctimonious and pretend I'm an environmentalist - I'm not. I'm interested in taste first. I'm afraid the rising waters of the oceans are a secondary concern to "what the hell am I going to do with all these apples falling everywhere? I've already made pies, crumbles, compotes, jellies and apple juice." But it does stand to reason that if you grow vegetables in your garden, or on your windowsill, or on a shared allotment, they will taste infinitely better than if they have been sitting around on a supermarket shelf for a week, and will have helped reduce your carbon footprint too.

October is a bleak time in the garden. The weather is closing in and there is very little to plant for next year. You harvest apples all day long, you dig up the last of the carrots and potatoes. The thrill of new life is in short supply. But you can keep yourself going by planting one of my favourite vegetables - the Broad Bean. There can be surely no more comfortable bean, than the broad bean. By the time spring is upon us, they will be dangling thick, heavy and proud whilst nestled in a soft white jacket. They look so cosy in there! But I digress. Right now, you need to plant them about 5cm deep, roughly 10cm apart, in parallel rows that are themselves 25cm apart.

I planted mine (Bunyards Exhibition and Red Epicure) two weeks ago, and the little beggars are already sprouting. Broad beans are renowned for being a hardy plant, but if a frost is on the cards over the winter you must cover them, just to be on the safe side. Other than that you just give them a stake to cling onto once they become seedlings, and all should be well. Give them a try!

Whole Roast Onions with Marjoram
Serves 4

October is also the time of year when one has an abundance of onions. Try this as a yummy lunchtime snack, with some crusty bread and a glass of crisp white wine.

Ingredients:

4 Large White Onions
100g Butter
A Handful of Marjoram, Chopped
Sea Salt and Cracked Black Pepper

Method:

1. Pre-heat your oven to 220 degrees centigrade.
2. Place the onions in a baking tray, transfer to oven. Cook until very soft and juicy.
3. Meanwhile, soften your butter and add your chopped Marjoram.
4. Once the onions are cooked, remove and gently peel the first few outer layers of the skin. You must leave some behind though, so the onion will hold it's shape. Slice the top of each onion away, as if you were scalping a boiled egg, and then lather the onion with the Marjoram butter.
5. Once the butter has melted, season well and enjoy!