This is one of three recipes from Basque, the brilliant new book from José Pizarro, which captures the magic of this unique part of northern Spain and south-west France. "Buy the broad beans as young as you can," he says, "or use frozen beans and keep the recipe up your sleeve for last-minute dinner parties."
Make José Pizarro's slow-cooked broad beans
Slow-cooked and served with a poached egg, this is a simple, delicious starter that would also make a great brunch dish
Serves 6
Preparation time 5 mins
Cooking time 45 mins
Ingredients
- 3kg broad beans
- 100ml olive oil
- 3 medium French shallots, finely chopped
- 150ml dry white wine
- 750ml fresh vegetable stock
- 6 free-range eggs 150g pecorino, Roncal or Idiazábal cheese, shaved
- Small handful of finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
- Freshly ground black pepper Extra-virgin olive oil, to drizzle
Method
- Pod the broad beans. In a saucepan, heat the oil over a medium heat, add the shallots and cook for 10 minutes until lightly golden and soft.
- Add the broad beans and mix well, cooking for another five minutes.
- Add the wine, bubbling it for a minute or two to reduce the alcohol.
- Add two thirds of the stock, cover and cook for a further 30 minutes, adding more stock if the broad beans start to get too dry.
- Meanwhile, poach the eggs in a medium saucepan of salted simmering water for 3 minutes or until just cooked and ready to serve.
- Spoon the beans into six warmed bowls, top with a poached egg and scatter with the cheese, parsley, black pepper and a generous drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil.
'Basque: Spanish Recipes from San Sebastián and Beyond' by José Pizarro (Hardie Grant, £25.00).
