French beans - what can you do with them?

[grahamhobbs]

Like most veg. growers this time of year, we can't keep up with the non-stop french beans, ok we have eaten some, frozen more..... but what else can we do with them. Anyone made soup from them?

[Green Aura]

They're a standard in Minestrone and we make a great green bean stew - very simple - beans tomatoes couple of spuds, oregano basil and seasoning. Wonderful with kleftiko and a glass of retsina

[bean gardenin']

They are lovely cooked but cold in a salad nicoise.

[Odsox]

I leave them for haricots when the runner beans start.
Then turn them into baked beans with a recipe I posted here some time ago.

[grahamhobbs]

Thanks, some nice ideas, but I was looking for a way of storing the glut, other than just freezing them (or slaughtering them as the french do by cooking to smitherins and putting in kilner jars).

Has anyone tried making a soup by liquidising them and then freezing. I imagine making the soup with some onions, garlic, the french beans, and some herbs.

[red]

pickle them

I pickle them in vinegar, garlic and a little sugar. nice with cold meats etc

[Millymollymandy]

I didn't get enough of them but I was going to do Delia's spicy pickled runner beans with French beans! I imagine it would be equally good.

I like them cold in salads and mixed bean salads too. Really they can be chucked in with anything.

[grahamhobbs]

Pickled sounds good, thanks - keep the ideas coming then we might keep up with the production of our beans.

[battybird]

I put quite a lot in allotment chutney which uses any veg of which there is a glut! The main ingredients yesterday were marrow and beans...runner and french

[patR]

I tend to slice them small and add them to toms, onions, aubergines and anything else I have a glut of and make veg pasta sauce and put in jars for winter..

[oldjerry]

Well couldn't you make chutney like you would with runner beans?(I've never had that many,but making my own baked beans sounds really good odsox could you post a link to the recipe please).

[Odsox]

making my own baked beans sounds really good odsox could you post a link to the recipe please.

There you go ... http://www.selfsufficientish.com/forum/ ... s&start=19
Several different recipes on this thread, not just mine (which I make on a regular basis now)
The tin of tomatoes is now replaced by a bottle of home made tomato purée.

[oldjerry]

Thanks for that,will try that this week....let you know how I get on. Have you tried bottling them? How long do they keep?

[Odsox]

Yes, I tried bottling them with disastrous results, one blew the lid off after a couple of weeks so I dumped the other 3.
Haven't tried since and I don't think I will again, even though I have a pressure cooker now.
As they freeze well I've decided not to play Russian roulette with botulism.

[grahamhobbs]

It's strange but in France bottling french beans is absolutely standard practice. The problem for me is that they are overcooked and really not worth eating. But as far as I can remember they use a standard water bath method and simmer them for about 45mins but they do use a thermometer.