Broad Beans on toast

Simple lunch, but oh so tasty. Broad beans must are rapidly going out of season, but if you can still find any - make this. (You can sometimes find frozen, too.)

First, you need a lot of broad beans. A LOT. They're mostly pod. Say that you want at least 200 ml of shelled broad beans, and I think we had nearly a kilo to start with. (Sorry, didn't pay exact attention.)

Shell all those beans, and cook them in rapidly boiling water for 4-5 minutes. Cool them in cold water, then cut a tiny slit into each bean and slip off the skin.

Toss the naked beans with the juice of one lemon, a teaspoon of sambal oelek or other spicy chili paste, a little salt, and perhaps a tablespoon of finely chopped cilantro if you happen to have it.

Toast some bread. Spread with cream cheese, then mound on the broad beans. Top with a slice of air-cured ham - we had serrano ham. (It's obviously fine to skip the ham, for a totally veggie toast.)

Enjoy!

Parmesan Asparagus

So simple, so tasty.

Break off the woody end of each asparagus spear. (I find that it will snap in the right place if you just hold one end in each hand and.. snap.) Halve, and place, cut side down, in a roasting tin. Drizzle with olive oil. Bake at 200°C for ten minutes. Grate some parmesan, and sprinkle on top of the asparagus. Bake for a few more minutes, until the cheese is bubbling. And serve. Yum!