Since getting our allotment I have had runner bean envy of my neighbour’s runner beans. They are pristine. not a black fly, white fly or any fly for that matter on them. Each variety could have been entered into countless competitions and won. I was determined to grow my own this year but I wanted to make sure the beautiful flowers were edible too so I could make absolutely the most of the whole plant.
We decided on the “Firestorm” variety and were excited simply to receive the seeds. Look at how stunning they are!
Firestorm Runner Beans
The plants did well on our plot. I covered the soil in coffee grounds before planting and raked these in. They had no problems shooting up and staying free of bugs. Perhaps because we planted them next to the nasturtiums I don’t know. I also scattered a few broken egg shells near the seedlings so they stayed slug free.
Beautifully tall plants
The flowers were a vibrant red. Completely edible so we picked sparingly to have in our salads over the summer.
Vibrant edible flowers
The beans themselves were beautifully tender at the beginning. We remembered to pick them often and enjoyed them simply steamed. Then we had a few weekends of being away so the beans were left to get a little large and were incredibly stringy. The bonus was however that the beans inside got enormous so we cooked those up. They went from a beautiful pink to a grey. Not very pretty at all.
Beautifully green and perfectly formed runner beans – in my humble opinion
But the answer was to coat them in spices as I’ve done below in a simple Gujarati shak (dry curry). I used the outers too after having removed the very stringy edge.
[recipe title=”Firestorm Runner Bean Curry” servings=”4″ time=”30 mins” difficulty=”Easy”]
Runner Bean Shak/Curry
You’ll need
- About 15-20 runner beans
- 2 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 tsp small black mustard seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp table salt
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 2 tsp red chilli powder
- 2 1/2 tsp cumin and coriander powder
- large clove of garlic, crushed
- juice of half a lemon
- 5 sprigs fresh coriander, chopped coarsely
To make it
- Prepare the runner beans by destringing and cutting into strips about an inch and a half long. It’s OK if the beans pop out.
- Heat the oil in a wok or a small saucepan on a medium. Drop a mustard seed into the oil after a few minutes. If it fizzles and pops then it’s ready.
- Add the mustard seeds and cumin seeds to the hot oil and then quickly add the prepared runner beans. Be careful because the oil may spit so use the lid of a saucepan to defend yourself!
- Add an eggcup full of water, stir and then add the rest of the ingredients except the lemon juice. Stir again. Use a form vs a wooden spoon so the dry spices do not stick to it.
- Cover and leave to cook for about 15 minutes until the beans are tender.
- Add the lemon juice and fresh coriander, stir through and then turn off the heat.
Serve this with plain basmati rice or with fresh chappatis. My daughters have this with a dollop of plain yoghurt in a pitta bread half. It’s a great midweek supper.
[/recipe]
What’s your favourite way to eat runner beans? Any tips on growing them?
Related articles
- Runner beans – a comparison (marksvegplotblogspot.co.uk)
- Runner bean chutney (theholisticmanucurist.co.uk)
- Runner Bean Soup (cooksister.com)
Aren’t they beautiful, I’d forgotten you get those fiery red flowers with beans. The curry looks very good too!
Thank you. Fiery red. Love that description
Runner beans are one of those vegetables that have to be picked that morning to taste good. After even one day they lose that particular fresh taste and become ordinary. As our family had a big garden and grew our own veg I am particularly fond of them. Great ideas for the more mature bean and I would never have thought of eating the flowers (which look beautiful). You have a green thumb as they say around here (which makes me laugh although it’s not so different from having green fingers).
I like that expression and I must admit I have learned much about developing my green thumb from Twitter. Be careful though as not all varieties have edible flowers. I chose this one because it does.
Oh how I love runner beans… before we had an allotment I would always walk past the allotments and glance enviously at the one chap’s jungle of bean plants covered in red flowers… For the past 2 years we have grown our own and they do fantastically well. We also left one lot too long and OMG they get stringy… hence the soup idea 😉 But there is nothing to beat them when fresh and young! Thanks for the link love!
A pleasure. I was most intrigued by the soup! I will def plant more next year. Perhaps borlotti beans actually