Savoury Bean FrittersOrigin: Ancient Period: Traditional |
|
Today we tend to forget just how important beans are and have been to the diet. Indeed, bean samples are found in just about every Iron Age settlement in Northern Europe and by far the commonest bean type found is Vicia faba (the broad or fava bean). However, the type is not like our modern-day broad beans. The seeds are smaller and harder, much like the wild parent plant and are of a type commonly known as the Celtic Bean (also known as tic bean, field bean). This type of bean has been found in archaeological sites from Britain across to Poland. The beans are much harder than modern cultivars and are typically grown as animal fodder these days. However, they are more flavoursome than garden broad beans and are preferred when making some dishes such as falafel. We tend to forget these days just how important beans have been to the diet. Like grains they can be dried and stored over winter. They can be kept for famine times. They can also be critical to the diet, as a dish of beans and grains provides all the proteins that people need. This is why dishes of beans and grains where staples in South and Central America, in Europe during the Middle Ages, in China and remain staples in Africa today. Indeed, it's only during recent trips to Africa that the importance of beans to the diet, and their versatility as a food source, dawned on me. As a result I have collected a range of recipe and adapted them to the techniques and foods (both wild and cultivated) available during he European iron age. As a not, almost all these recipes rely on prepared Celtic beans. The method of preparation is very similar to the way black-eyed peas are prepared in West Africa and if you can't get Celtic Beans you can get the same effect by mixing 1/3 dried black-eyed peas to 2/3 dried broad (fava) beans. Soak the beans over night then drain and place in a large pot. Cover with plenty of water, bring to a boil and cook for at least 3 hours. Cover, take off he heat and allow to cool in the water. You now need to remove hard skins from the beans. This can be done by rubbing the beans between your hands to slough-off the skin (as is done in Africa) but this is laborious and time-consuming. You can also grind the beans between two stones, or, if you're impatient dump the beans in a food processor and grind them there. Once you've ground the beans place in a bowl of water and let the skin pieces float to the top. Drain the beans and remove the skins. Your beans are now ready to use. Ingredients:
120g butter 
Method:PreparationMelt a little butter in a pan and use to gently fry the sorrel, hazelnuts and sea beet until wilted. Take off the heat and transfer to a bowl. Mix in the horseradish and beans then add an egg. Stir to combine then season with salt and add just enough flour to bring the ingredients together as a stiff dough. Shape the dough into rissoles, melt the butter in a large pan and use to fry the shaped rissoles until browned all over. These can be served either hot or cold. |
printer-friendly version|
Not the Recipe you were after? Try our Comprehensive Recipe Search: Add Celtnet Recipe: Savoury Bean Fritters to your online bookmark site: 
|
|
More Ancient recipes... More European recipes... More recipes using Wild Foods... More recipes using Beans and Pulses... More Frying recipes... More recipes for Nuts... |
Are any of the terms used here unfamiliar, do you want to translate from British to American cookery terms? If so then this Glossary of US and UK Cookery Terms will help you. |
Read: Recipe Articles and Reviews
One Million People CampaignIf you can spare $1 then help support this site and change someone's life forever? Learn how and why on the One Million People campaign page. Or donate $10 and get my guide to spices or my The Recipes of Africa eBook ebook as a gift for your donation! Over 3000 people visit this page daily if only 1 in 10 of you donate $1 that makes $2000 in 1 week. Enough money for 2 children to get an education for a year. Please use this button to donate just $1 now! As a thank-you you get to write an entire page on yourself for this site, including a link to your website. Become one of the 'One Million People' today! |
Need to convert any measurements on this site? I have conversion pages available for Volumes, Mass/Weight and Temperatures available.
Other recipes with beans and greens as primary ingredients: Nettle Syrup Boiled Wintercress Greens Sea Lettuce Salad Watercress Soup with Egg Liaison Morels with Butter Beans, Tomatoes and Herbs Congressional Bean Soup in a Crockpot Rich Sauce Chivry Samphire with Girolles Linden Leaf Stew Pollack with Cockles and Sea Beet Sauerampfersuppe Cwnhingen â Chorbys Mâche Sabayon with Parmesan Shavings Calalu Gedunstetes Weisskraut Persian Lentils with Orange Juice and Angelica Garlic Mustard Pesto Hochrippe Und Sauerkraut Baked Savoury Lentils Red Cabbage, Belgian Style Purslane and Potato Salad Spiced Plums in Blackberry Leaves Okra and Greens Lamb's Lettuce and Crispy Bacon Salad Linden Leaf Flour Noodles Buttered Fireweed Shoots Join the Celtnet Recipes Discussion Forum The Guide to Spices and their Uses PDF file — It takes time and money to keep The Celtnet Recipe Site on the world wide web. You can help via the PayPal donation system: If you prefer to buy from an on-line store then you can get this eBook, all my other eBooks and a range of other recipe eBooks from my Recipe eBooks Store |
If you were interested in these recipes then you may be interested in my Celtnet eBook Store here you will find many recipe eBooks, a number of which are available for only $1!
Couldn't find what you were looking for? Search the web:
