Ah, October. How did you swing around again so fast?
October is...
... the 10th month in the Gregorian calendar (which we use today) but was the eighth month in the Roman calendar, hence the "oct" part of its name.
... the month in which we celebrate St Crispin's Day (patron saint of shoemakers)
... is the month in which daylight saving time ends in the UK and we revert to Greenwich Mean Time
... has the opal and the tourmaline as its birthstones
... begins in the starsign Libra and ends in Scoprio
... is the birthday month of (among others) Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu; actresses Susan Sarandon, Sigourney Weaver and Carrie Fisher; actors Chevy Chase, Roger Moore and John Lithgow; and musicians Sting, Paul Simon and Simon le Bon.
It's also the month when anybody in the Northern hemisphere with a vegetable garden loses the will to live when faced with another batch of runner beans. You've steamed them, boiled them, made runner bean stir-fry, put them in casseroles and salads, and made runner bean soup with them. And still, they come.
Now what??
I'll tell you now what - make runner bean and feta gratin with them. It takes almost no time or effort, and it's tasty enough to tempt even fussy eaters (the crispy cheesy crust makes them forget that they are eating greens, heh heh). Think of it as my gift to everyone with an over-abundance of runner beans!
RUNNER BEAN AND FETA GRATIN (serves 2-3)
Ingredients:
about 2 cups runner beans, washed and chopped into 1 inch lengths
100 ml cream (I used double cream)
100g feta cheese
about 1/2 a cup of breadcrumbs
Method:
Pre-heat the oven to 180C.
Steam or microwave the beans until just tender. Place them in a shallow oven-proof dish. Pour the cream over the beans and season with salt and pepper. Top with crumbled feta and breadcrumbs and bake for about 20 minutes until the cream has thickened and the breadcrumbs form a golden crust.
You have too many and I cannot seem to get them growing in my garden!!! Love the gratin idea though!!
Posted by: nina | October 06, 2010 at 03:33 PM
Runner beans are one of my favourite veg so do send a few my way if you have too many (!) This gratin looks so delicious though - I can imagine the feta works really well here.
Posted by: Antonia | October 06, 2010 at 07:18 PM
How lucky you are. It's a vegetable that has to be eaten fresh from the garden in my opinion.
Posted by: Sally - My Custard Pie | October 07, 2010 at 05:19 AM
Very unusual looking.
Posted by: Firefly | October 07, 2010 at 07:28 AM
Oh i really like the idea - i am usually at a loss with runner beans but i love the pairing with feta here! yum!
Posted by: meeta | October 07, 2010 at 08:43 AM
LOVE the feta idea - looks delish!
Posted by: Jan | October 07, 2010 at 10:04 AM
Scarlet runner beans would still have been climbing up the deck at the house this time of year. The hummingbirds would be headed to Mexico but we could still enjoy beans.
Posted by: bellini valli | October 07, 2010 at 02:37 PM
We don't have any this year but I know that feeling well! This is a very imaginative way to use them.
Posted by: Sarah, Maison Cupcake | October 08, 2010 at 02:34 PM
The only thing I grow in my apartment in Manhattan is dust.
Great recipe. I am doing a Greek theme tonight. Too bad I saw this after I bought all my veggies. I have a big chunk of feta at home.
Have a wonderful weekend
Posted by: norma | October 08, 2010 at 05:31 PM
Oh yes I can't wait to try this one out for myself. It looks so so good to me. Ok let me calm down. LOL
Posted by: Free Recipes Online | October 08, 2010 at 08:11 PM
October is my favorite month of the year...because I also celebrate my birthday during :) :) Unfortunately, I have no garden...an overabundance of anything would be lovely! Especially if it results in a tasty gratin like this!
Posted by: joey | October 09, 2010 at 02:01 AM
Thank you, thank you, thank you .... another great way to get the beans 'running' to the kids. I love how this gratin looks.
Posted by: deeba | October 10, 2010 at 03:39 AM
I love the runner beans. A simple beautiful dish. I would never have thought to do something like this with beans.
Posted by: Soma | October 12, 2010 at 12:31 AM
You know - this looks soo good, unfortunately I cant have the cream but I am guessing that i could do this with Quark(fat free substitute) and see how it goes. I wonder if mine will look as good as yours does though??
Posted by: Sebastian | October 12, 2010 at 11:05 PM
Wow this is so simple but looks so delicious and luscious! Husband loves beans like this and I love feta (and easy peasy recipes) so this is so perfect for us! And patron saint of shoemakers? So this month we have to go out and buy handmade shoes?
Posted by: Jamie | October 13, 2010 at 09:08 AM
This looks delicious! I haven't had feta is far too long, I think I may have to change that.
I love your serving spoon, it reminds me of my great-grandmother's silver.
Posted by: Erin | October 14, 2010 at 02:43 PM