Anybody who has travelled or lived in the Middle East will know Ful beans - stewed long and slow to bring out their deep meaty flavour; or soaked and ground, formed into balls, and deep-fried as ta'amiyya.

I can't imagine Egypt without ful as a staple food.   Every street corner has its ful restaurant, with huge shiny copper pots simmering very slowly over a gas burner, and a great wok-shaped frying pan spitting away.   One of the pleasures (survival techniques?) of living for five years there, as I did, was getting to know the good sources!   Very cheap, very filling, and from the right shop, VERY delicious - I've added a few recipes.

Now that I've discovered that the simple Broad Bean is the selfsame ful bean, I am planning to grow a lot more - enough to keep the family in dried beans over the year.   With the added advantage that the crop is a good green manure!

• Broad Beans will grow on almost any soil - but they do like to be in a bed well dug and manured the previous autumn.
• Choose your varieties
  • Longpods are hardier, crop earlier, and give a higher yield;
  • Windsor varieties give the best flavour, but lower yields;
  • there are also Dwarf varieties for growing under cloches, or in exposed areas.
• Draw out pairs of drills 2 inches deep, 8 inches apart, and 24 inches between each pair.   Sow the seeds in about 8 inches apart.   Make three or four sowings, for a longer harvest period.
• String garden twine across and along your bean bed to keep the birds off.
• I support my broad beans by putting in stout sticks at each corner of the row, and stretching a length of twine along the outside of the bean row.
• Keep the weeds under control - by hand if necessary.   After the flowers have started to form, you will need to water heavily during dry spells, especially as the pods start to fill.
• As soon as the first pods have started to form, or there are small black flies in the tips of your beans, pinch out the top three inches.   Blackfly is a serious pest of broad beans.
• Harvesting - for using fresh; don't let the beans grow too big, they become tough and lose their sweetness.  
  • Small pods, 2 to 3 inches long, can be picked and cooked whole;
  • Beans for shelling should be picked while the "scar" on the bean is still white or green, when the beans are showing in the pod.
  • Regular picking will encourage later pods to develop fully.
• Harvesting - for using as Ful; again, don't let the beans grow too big, as the skins become tough and hard to cook.
  • Cut the whole plant, and hang in bunches somewhere dry in the house;
  • When the pods have completely dried, black and "crisp" (some of them may have started "popping"), shell the beans, and store in air-tight jars;
  • How long do thet keep?   I don't know yet, I haven't managed to get them to last that long!
• After the plants are stripped, either dig them in as green manure, or (like peas) cut down the stems and compost them, leaving the roots in the ground.
• Aquadulce or Sutton beans can be planted under cloches in February, or in November in sheltered spots, to provide beans in June.

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Storing and Uses

Broad Beans freeze very successfully.   Shell them, blanch them briefly in boiling water, and freeze (as fast as you can) on trays; store in freezer bags.

Broad Bean plants can also be hung up in bunches to dry, until the pods are black and beginning to "pop" - shell the beans, and store in an air-tight jar.   I have a few Middle Eastern recipes using dried Broad Beans.

Worth exploring - there's a good range of Mediterranean, Arab, and Iranian dishes, using fresh broad beans.   Much more interesting than boiling/steaming them as a side vegetable!   Not convinced?   Try this Iranian recipe - Rice with Lamb, Broad Beans and Dill

• 1.5 kg shoulder chops of lamb - nice and thick
  1/2 cup ghee or butter
  1 large onion, finely chopped
  1/2 tsp turmeric
  3 cups basmati rice
  2 cups fresh shelled broad beans
  3/4 cup chopped dill
• Brown the lamb chops in 1 tbsp of the ghee, and remove to a plate.   Add another 1 tbsp of fat, and fry onion gently until transparent; add tumeric and cook another 2 minutes.   Add 1 cup water, salt, pepper, and return lamb to pan.   Cover and simmer gently for an hour, until lamb is very tender.
• Bring 8 cups water to the boil in a large pot.   Add salt and well-washed rice, bring back to the boil and cook for 5-7 minutes.   Drain immediately.
• Swirl some of the ghee (melted) round a suitable large casserole dish, and lay half of plain rice in a layer on the bottom.   Now make a layer of the cooked lamb and add its juices.
• Mix the broad beans and dill with the rest of the rice, and layer over the lamb.   Pour half of remaining ghee over top.   Cover and cook until beans are tender (30 minutes?), just tender - and not overcooked.

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