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Broad bean, bacon and mushroom pasta

by Jeanne Horak on August 16, 2008 14 Comments in My Legume Love Affair, Pasta & rice

broad-bean-bacon-mushroom-pasta

Immigration is a hot topic in the UK these days.  It seems every person that you talk to thinks it’s a problem, but nobody seems to know quite what to do about it.  The world and its dog appears to be falling over themselves to get here – antipodean youngsters on their 2-year youth visas; Eastern Europeans from new EU states wanting work; asylum seekers… the list continues to grow.  And some sectors of the population are concerned that with all the new arrivals, Britain is losing its Britishness.  So in typical government fashion, the UK government has waded in with all sorts of half-considered reforms, one of which is that all people applying for residence have to prove that they can speak English – fine and well.

But another requirement is that people applying for residence have to pass an “Englishness” test.  Fine as far as it goes, but the test that I took contained such esoteric questions as “what percentage of British youth enters tertiary education?”, or “in which month is St David’s day?”.  Come on – I know people born in this country who would not be able to answer those!  It doesn’t have a bearing on your Britshness as much as on your ability to absorb trivia!  So if I were in charge, I would most certainly change the Englishness test to include more practical questions such as:

–  do you eat chicken tikka masala at least once a week?

–  do you know on which side of the Tube escalators are you not allowed to stand?

–  can you give me directions for getting from London to Birmingham without using a single road name (as in “take the first exit at the roundabout by the Kings Arms pub, then carry on straight till you see the post office, then make a left at the big tesco supermarket, leave the motorway when you see the Greenlands garden centre” etc etc)?

–  do you discuss the weather with colleagues and friends at least twice a day?

Well, I’m not sure how I’d fare on the others, but looking at my blog posts over the last month or so, I pass the final question with flying colours!  If it’s hot, I rejoice and write about it.  if it’s cold I complain and write about it.  But in recent weeks the weather has seldom been far from my mind – or my blog.  After a week of heat at the end of July, Thursday night was once again downright cold and miserable – so much for summer.  On nights like this, the challenge is to make winter food from summer ingredients, which can be quite a tall order sometimes.  One of my favourite summer foods has to be broad beans (fava beans for those of you in the US).  Now usually I’d use them in a salad or as a summery crostini topping.  But last week it simply wasn’t warm enough to try either of these.  So I took my usual recipe for pea and bacon pasta, tweaked it a little and voila – the result is this delicious creamy pasta sauce – comforting as a winter dish, but with the flavours of summer.  And although on this occasion I used frozen broad beans, if I’d had them to hand I would have used fresh broad beans, podded, boiled and podded again.

The dish is guaranteed to take your mind off the weather and focus attention on your tastebuds instead!

BROAD BEANS, BACON AND MUSHROOM PASTA (serves 2)

Ingredients:

Enough pasta for 2 people
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
4 rashers of bacon, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 cup fresh or frozen broad beans
6 button mushrooms, sliced
1 heaped Tbsp flour
100ml milk
2 Tbsp double cream (optional)
1/2 tsp dried sage
salt and pepper

Method:

Cook the pasta in plenty of salted water until al dente.

Heat the oil in a large, deep frying pan and fry the onion and garlic until beginning to soften.  Add the chopped bacon and sage and fry until almost cooked.

Add the broad beans, stirring until they are heated through.  Add the mushrooms until starting to soften, then stir in the flour until all the liquid is absorbed.  Add the milk (and cream if using) and stir until sauce is smooth.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Drain the pasta, return it to the pot and add the sauce.  Mix well and serve with a green salad on the side.

I’m submitting this dish to Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook who is hosting the event My Legume Love Affair – a second helping, after the very successful first round earlier in the year.  The idea is to present a dish featuring legumes as a central ingredient and you can still join in until 24 August.

Also, don’t forget to read and vote for my short story – these are the final three days to vote!

Other CookSister broad bean recipes:

Broad beans with Spanish ham

Broad bean, green bean & mozzarella salad

Broad bean, cheese and ham tart

Broad bean crostini

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  1. Kit says

    August 17, 2008 at 5:09 pm

    I’m sure the one about St David’s Day must be a trick question – the proper response for an English person would be – How should I know? St David is the patron saint of Wales! ….no offense meant to the Welsh, of course!
    I’m sorry that the weather has not picked up at all , even after we left – in fact we left on the first day of the hot spell – the only day of our visit that was truly T-shirt weather. Like the sound of your summer pasta dish – definitely a cheering comfort food.

    Reply
  2. Jan says

    August 17, 2008 at 5:14 pm

    LOL at the ‘Englishness’ test! I was born here and I’d probably fail it lol
    Love your pasta dish!

    Reply
  3. Dragon says

    August 18, 2008 at 1:36 am

    I eat chicken tikka masala at least once a month. Does that make me somewhat British? 🙂

    Reply
  4. Christina says

    August 18, 2008 at 12:27 pm

    Wow, I think the only one of those I got right was the Tube question. So obviously not a candidate for immigration…oh wait, I have a British passport!

    Reply
  5. Boots in the Oven says

    August 18, 2008 at 3:32 pm

    Well, the pasta looks delicious and creamy and light. And as far as the citizenship test goes, I don’t even want to know what’s on ours here in the States… I’m sure it’s totally vindictive.

    Reply
  6. katie says

    August 18, 2008 at 8:52 pm

    How about making a proper cuppa – not using bags???
    I’m facing the same challenge (not the immigrants) of trying to make winter food… We almost lit a fire last night!

    Reply
  7. kj says

    August 19, 2008 at 2:57 am

    i’m glad to arrive at your blog. your photos are mouth watering! i’ll be back if you don’t mind.

    Reply
  8. Manggy says

    August 19, 2008 at 5:01 pm

    I was going to talk a little bit more about what I thought of the issue of immigration but I thought it would be a little too charged, given I’m not Caucasian. Plus I sort of talk out of my *ss a lot, hahaha. But I do think the world should be open to those who hunger to experience it.
    I’m a man who doesn’t take many things personally and tries to avoid being touched, do I pass the Englishness test? Kidding! I’d probably fail it for not being interested in Big Brother or football…
    You’ve done really well with the ingredients! (Really, how can one go wrong with bacon, heh) If it was absolutely frigid you could also turn it into a pasta-ed minestrone! 🙂

    Reply
  9. courtney says

    August 19, 2008 at 9:57 pm

    That dish looks wonderful. For a second I almost though it was a pasta salad.See the weather influencing me here! I may try it in reverse as salad. Pasta is comforting summer and winter.

    Reply
  10. Kevin says

    August 20, 2008 at 2:28 am

    Great Englishness questions! That pasta sounds like a nice and simple and yet tasty way to enjoy broad beans.

    Reply
  11. Susan says

    August 26, 2008 at 12:17 am

    So, when *is* St. David’s Day, anyhow? Did I miss the fine print? ; )
    Lovely bowl of richly dressed shells, Jeanne. Thanks for joining MLLA2.

    Reply
  12. Rosemary Gough says

    August 28, 2008 at 9:42 am

    I so wish I could get broad beans here. When I have found them thy never look young and fresh like they say they should be.

    Reply
  13. Astra Libris says

    September 7, 2008 at 2:13 am

    Ooooh, your pasta sounds incredibly delicious, comforting, and nourishing all rolled into one… Brilliant!

    Reply
  14. James says

    August 7, 2010 at 3:19 am

    Lovely !, sorry came to comment about the Citizenship test, but got completely distracted by pasta ….
    Fully agree with your view on esoteric questions !, anyway the natives tend to be rather parochial.

    Reply
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Jeanne Horak is a freelance food and travel writer; recipe developer and photographer. South African by birth and Londoner by choice, Jeanne has been writing about food and travel on Cooksister since 2004. She is a popular speaker on food photography and writing has also contributed articles, recipes and photos to a number of online and print publications. Jeanne has also worked with a number of destination marketers to promote their city or region. Please get in touch to work with her Read More…

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