Week 14 - Abundance- Alys Fowler

As well as #cookbookchallenge, being on lock down has also seen us trying to #eatthefreezer. And this week's effort saw two birds with one stone as I tried to use up a big block of broad beans that had been taking up at least a two litre ice cream tub's worth of room since last summer.

Preparing for isolation meant the Ewing had rushed to our local library and bought home armfuls of library books (half are now being employed as a prop for my laptop as I work from home). One that wasn't roped in to my makeshift office was Abundance, written by erstwhile Gardener's Worlder Alys Fowler, which also happened to be full of lots of useful tips about pickling, salting, fermenting and preserving. Very useful when you're only allowed out for that weekly shop.

There is also a handy freezer chapter that featured a recipe for broad bean falafel using almost exactly the amount I had in my freezer (you can also use chickpeas, or a mix of half and half) plus dill (I had a slightly wilted bag from one of my last pre-lockdown Waitrose trips) plus mint and parsley (our slightly straggly plants had just started to take-off in the spring sunshine). It was a fait accompli.

The only thing I was slightly concerned about was the cooking - the recipe said to shallow fry which always seems like the most awkward cooking method - little splash of oil; no worries. Boiling cauldron of oil, no problem. That middling amount of oil; sudden panic (plus the boredom of standing around, watching them intently while they go from pallid and pale to carbonic in mere minutes)

In the end I used a couple of centimetres in a small cast iron saucepan, cooking three of four at a time until lightly golden. And, apart from a couple breaking up a little at the edges, they crisped up nicely and only took a couple of minutes per batch.

Broad bean falafel 

Adapted from Abundance by Alys Fowler

500g broad beans, defrosted if frozen and double-podded if tough

1 teaspoon of baking powder

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 clove of garlic

1 pinch of chilli flakes

A small handful of parsley chopped

A small handful of dill, chopped

A small handful of mint, chopped

1 tsp ground cumin

Salt and pepper to season

Olive oil

Vegetable oil for shallow frying

Blanch the broad beans for 3 minutes then rinse in cold water.

Mash all the ingredients together with a hand blender, adding a glug of olive oil if needed or a teaspoon of flour until you have a sausage-meat like consistency. Aim for the dry side so they don't brake up too much when you try to shape and fry them.

Rub olive oil in your hands and roll into small balls then dust in flour.

Shallow fry in oil is a wok or deep frying pan until golden brown.

Serve with yogurt mixed with a pinch of salt, 1 tsp of dried mint and 1 tsp of tahini.