Full of beans

11:31am Monday 14th July 2008

Comments (0)   Have your say »

There is a brand new bean in store at Booths this month with the arrival of the UK’s first frozen flageolet beans.

Booths is the first food store in the country to stock the frozen flageolet beans, which are produced locally by northern vegetable producers and packers Scholes.

Vivien Russell, buyer at Booths says: “We’re always on the lookout for good quality new products – and these frozen beans are a great idea. They taste delicious, are very nutritious and are a simple way to get one of your five-a-day.”

Flageolet beans - often described as the ‘caviar of beans’ - are only available in the UK in tins or dried. The new frozen beans will combine the convenience of tinned beans with all the taste of fresh produce.

Scholes has been successful in growing the largest crop of flageolet beans in northern Europe and this year they plan to produce 250 tonnes of the beans from carefully selected land on their farm in the Yorkshire Wolds.

Flageolet beans are harvested in late summer when the condition of the beans is just right. The beans are shelled from the pod and then transported to be frozen within two hours of being picked, to ensure the freshest tasting bean possible.

Flageolet beans are very popular with chefs and unlike many other beans, they hold their shape well during cooking, have a delicate flavour and are creamy and dense in texture. They are also extremely nutritious, being full of fibre and an excellent source of protein.

New flageolet bean recipes have been specially devised by TV chef Rachel Green to showcase the new product on Scholes’ behalf.

Roasted Rack of Lamb with Flageolet Beans, Shallots and Apple Mash.

Serves 4.

2 tbsp olive oil.

4 x 200g French trimmed mini racks of lamb.

300g fresh flageolet beans.

50g butter.

75g shallots, peeled and finely diced.

1 firm eating apple, peeled and diced into small cubes.

1 tbsp fresh mint, chopped.

100ml double cream.

1 tbsp water.

1 tbsp fresh mint, chopped.

Method.

Preheat the oven to 200˚C/400˚F/Gas Mark 6.

Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and seal the racks of lamb on all sides. Place in a roasting tin and roast in the preheated oven for 15 – 20 minutes for pink lamb, or another 5 minutes for medium. Allow the meat to rest in a warm place for 5 minutes before serving.

While the lamb is cooking, cook the flageolet beans in boiling, salted water for 15 – 20 minutes until softened, then drain well. Meanwhile, melt the butter and add the shallots. Cook for 2 minutes, taking care not to let them burn, then add the apple and sauté with the shallots for a further minute. Add the cream, flageolet beans and water, and season with sea salt and black pepper.

Simmer gently for 5 minutes or until the apple has softened, and mash roughly. Stir in the chopped mint and adjust the seasoning to taste. Serve with the racks of lamb.