Sweet Bean CakesOrigin: Ancient Period: Traditional |
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Admittedly, when you hear the title of this dish, most people immediately think of the dish of 'Pork and Beans' from America, specifically the American South. However, we know from archaeological evidence that the Celts were cooking and eating a mix of pork and beans 2500 years ago an more! It seems that this dish therefor uses that early broad (fava) bean cultivar, the Celtic Bean. 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. Just to show the versatility of beans, here's a sweet bean-based dish for you. Ingredients:
250g butter 
Method:PreparationSift the flour into a bowl then rub-in the butter with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir-in the beans and hazelnuts and add the honey. Mix to a stiff batter. Drop heaped tablespoons of the mixture onto a hot, lightly-greased griddle and cook until lightly-browned on both sides (about 6 minutes per side). All the ingredients for these griddle cakes can be stored year round and they would have provided for a nutritious and flavoursome winter staple. |
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