Peas n beans – spring nibbles

Serves 4, ready in about 20 minutes (not counting fava bean shucking time!).

I LOVE PEAS! In all forms. I always have. In fact, I could probably write for ages about peas, but I shall restrain myself and keep it to two vignettes:

No. 1: While I was growing up, on numerous occasions, my dad recited this classic ditty:

I Eat My Peas with Honey (an anonymous poem)
I eat my peas with honey;
I've done it all my life.
It makes the peas taste funny,
But it keeps them on the knife.

I loved it so much I did a drawing to go with it.

No. 2: One of my fav snacks is frozen peas, straight out of the Birds Eye bag. Now I live in a place that grows peas, I love them straight out of the shell.

At this time of year, there are SO MANY fava bean and pea recipes in the national newspapers and cooking magazines. Fava bean and pea mash, risotto, soup, you name it, the cooks and chefs have made and published it for your eating pleasure.

And, now I am not the exception. These are two super simple recipes to make lovely, spring-time bruschetta that is perfect for a starter at a garden-based, early-evening meal.

You will need:

Ciabatta for 8 good size pieces

For the fava bean topping:

• 100 g soft ewe’s cheese
• ¾ cup fava beans (post shucking of course!)
• 4 mint leaves
• ¼ tsp lemon thyme leaves
• salt and pepper to taste
• ½ tsp lemon olive oil, maybe more to taste
• garlic clove

Put the fava beans in a pan on medium heat and then pour over boiling water. Boil for about 2-3 mins so you can stick a fork in them but they are still bright green. Put in a colander and run cold water over them until room temperature.

Chop the mint leaves finely and then combine with all other ingredients except the garlic and mix well.

For the pea topping:

• 4 tbs ricotta cheese
• ¾ cup fresh peas
• 4 mint leaves
• 8 butterfly sorrel leaves
• salt and pepper to taste
• ½ tsp olive oil, maybe more to taste

Put the peas in a pan on medium heat and then pour over boiling water. Boil for about 2-3 mins so you can stick a fork in but they are still bright green. Put in a colander and run cold water over them until room temperature.

Chop the mint and butterfly sorrel finely and then mix with all other ingredients.

Assembly:
Slice 8 nice sized pieces of ciabatta and put under the broiler until toasted.

Cut the garlic clove in half and rub the half over half the pieces of ciabatta. Put a spoonful of the fava bean mix on each of the ciabatta pieces that you have rubbed the garlic on. Put a spoonful of the pea mix on each of the other half of the pieces of ciabatta. Serve!