A different way of treating very young broad beans, inspired by a recipe from Yotam Ottolenghi which is a delight for serious garlic and chilli fans.

500g young broad beans
1 tbsp plain flour
Olive oil
1 red chilli, pith removed before finely chopping the flesh. Seeds can be omitted or included.
5 garlic cloves (YO uses 10), peeled and crushed
Squeeze of lemon juice
1 tsp cumin seeds, lightly toasted and crushed
Coriander leaves, chopped

Top and tail the beans and remove the stringy thread along each long side. Cut each in half and place in a bowl of cold water into which a tablespoon of plain flour has been whisked (this prevents the beans from turning black).

Using a large sauté pan with a lid, put in 80ml of olive oil and heat to a medium temperature. Add the garlic and chilli and fry for about two minutes until the garlic starts to turn golden.

Drain, rinse and dry the beans and add these. Season well and cook for about a minute before adding a good wine glass measure of water. Turn down the heat, cover and leave to simmer for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally and checking that not all the water has evaporated.

Take off the heat and stir in the lemon juice, cumin seeds and coriander.

Serve warm or at room temperature with Greek yoghurt or a simple tahini sauce.