Broad Bean Tarragon + Avocado Crostini {vegan}

These little broad bean, tarragon and avocado crostini are just the thing to serve with pre-dinner drinks or on their own alongside a salad for lunch on a sunny Spring day. 

It begins with broad beans (a.k.a. fava beans), one of my favourite things about Spring – broad beans are fleeting, bursting with life for a few short weeks only to quieten again for another year, allowing other, louder summer vegetables and fruits to take their place (tomatoes! eggplant! mangoes! cherries! – oh all the summer recipes to come, i can hardly wait). They are generous in that way, which makes me like them more.

They are unassuming, but beautiful, and delicious when cooked just a little and seasoned just so. I like them to be podded and shelled — I’m not a fan of their bitter, clingy and tough shell, I just want the emerald goods on the inside. Others may disagree, and if you are one of them, feel free to just pod the beans and leave the clingy shells on (unless they are very large beans, then the shell will be really bitter and I definitely recommend that you remove it). If you happen to have a compost, throw in all of the pods and shells, they make wonderful compost material. Or, for an even better use of all those pods do THIS. Using the leftover broad bean pods to make fries is freaking GENIUS. They look and sound incredible, I have a kilo or two of beans still kicking around in the fridge, so I’m planning on frying the pods up as per this recipe and serving them with vegan aioli.

Once the beans are all shell-less and you’ve made your all important decision about the pods – to fry or not to fry – you can move on to marinating the beans in a delicious tarragon-y, olive oil-y mix of goodness. Leave it for about an hour if you can to properly infuse the beans with all the flavour, then: grill some baguette slices (sourdough if possible for best results), drizzle the golden bread with olive oil, rub with garlic, top with some lemony avocado, then pile on those beans. Finish with a flurry of flaky sea salt, pepper, leftover tarragon-y olive oil from the broad bean bowl and some pretty micro herbs or extra tarragon and you are good to go.

Broad Bean Tarragon + Avocado Crostini {vegan}

vegan, dairy‐free, egg‐free, nut‐free, gf option

These little broad bean, tarragon and avocado crostini are just the thing to serve with pre‐dinner drinks or on their own alongside a salad for lunch on a sunny Spring day. Crunchy, garlicky grilled sourdough baguette slices are topped with creamy avocado and piled high with marinated tarragon broad beans.

Servings 12

Ingredients

broad bean mix

• 1 kg broad beans podded, blanched & shelled again (200g once double shelled, about 1 cup)
• 2 tbsp good quality extra‐virgin olive oil
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1 stalk tarragon leaves finely chopped (about 1 tsp. chopped)
• 1/2 tsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp flaky sea salt or 1/4 tsp. fine salt
• little pinch chili flakes
• a few good cracks black pepper
• 1 tsp of verjus or 1/2 tsp. white wine vinegar & a tiny pinch of sugar

avo mix

• 2 medium‐large ripe avocados flesh cut into large dice
• juice of 1/2 a small lemon or to taste
• 1 tsp flaky sea salt or 1/4 tsp. fine salt
• a few good cracks black pepper

baguette

• 1 sourdough baguette sliced thickly (gf baguette/bread if gluten free)
• extra‐virgin olive oil
• 1 garlic clove peeled & one end trimmed

Instructions

• Mix together all of the broad bean topping ingredients in a bowl, add more seasoning if you see fit and leave to marinate at room temperature, covered, for about 1 hour if you have it, or at least 20 minutes.
• Place all of the avocado topping ingredients in a bowl and lightly mix together until it's a little mashed but still chunky. You don't want the avocado to be too mushy! Taste for seasoning and add more salt/pepper/lemon if needed.
• Grill the baguette slices either in a hot grill pan or frying pan, or under the grill in the oven until golden brown and crunchy. Drizzle generously with olive oil and rub each piece with the cut end of the garlic clove.
• Top each piece of baguette toast with a little avocado mix, then pile a little scoop of the broad bean mix on top (best to do this on a chopping board as it can get a little messy). Transfer to a serving platter then sprinkle with a little extra flaky salt, some cracked black pepper, a drizzle of the tarragon‐y oil left over in the broad bean marinating bowl and a scattering of micro herbs or extra tarragon. Serve asap – with some white wine or champagne before dinner they are seriously perfect.