Food and facts

Food for thought:
Some Italians carry a broad bean for good luck for they believe that if one carries a broad bean, one will never be without the essentials of life.

Broad Bean Crostini 

Preparation time:  10 minutes
Cooking time:  10 minutes

Ingredients
300g podded broad beans
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons mint leaves, chopped
Salt and pepper

For the toast:  thin slices of baguette, 1 clove garlic

To serve:  additional toppings of your choice, e.g. chopped cherry tomatoes, chopped olives,
Parmesan shavings, strips of prosciutto, crumbled feta cheese, mint leaves

Method
1.  Bring a pan of water to the boil, add the broad beans and cook for 4-5 minutes.  Drain and rinse under cold water. Shell the beans and discard the skins.

2.  Put the broad beans into a bowl and crush with a potato masher until mashed but still retaining some texture.  Stir in the lemon juice, olive oil, mint and salt and pepper.  (Alternatively, put the beans and the other ingredients into a food processor and whizz for a few seconds until it reaches the desired consistency.)  Taste and adjust the seasoning.

3.  To serve the crostini, toast the baguette slices on both sides.  Halve the clove of garlic and rub the cut surface over one side of each piece of toast.  Spoon the bean mixture on top, and add other toppings of your choice (or put extra toppings in separate bowls and let people help themselves).

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