This is one of my personal favourites, made with my absolutely favourite vegetable. 

For many years I lived in the midst of Brussels’s Moroccan community and my neighbours’ taste for this queen of veg exceeded even my own. 

This is unsurprising, given that they have been eaten all around the Mediterranean for millennia. 

In more recent centuries their popularity has spread as far as China in one direction and the Americas in another. 

Fresh broad beans should be available by now but this is also a vegetable which, like garden peas, freezes well. 

I often use frozen broad beans when fresh aren’t available either from my garden or the local market. If you’re using frozen, however, thaw them out in advance. 

This recipe combines the beans with mint, which is easy to grow in a tiny garden space, so give it a go if you can. 

Mint is also one of the easiest herbs to find for sale fresh, and in this recipe is much nicer than dried. If you’re averse to mint substitute parsley, also easy to find.

As for the beans, if you buy young, small ones you won’t have a problem with tough skins. They don’t bother me anyway but if you have larger beans and find the skins tough, steam or boil them for five minutes beforehand, plunge them into cold water and rub the skins off. 

I think this works on its own but it also makes a great accompaniment to steamed white fish. 

• 450g/1lb shelled broad beans
• 225g/ ½lb potatoes, diced 
• 1 medium onion — a red one is best, but an ordinary yellow onion will do, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, or more, to taste, crushed or grated
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 425ml/½ pint vegetable stock
• 2 tbsp fresh mint, chopped
• Salt and freshly ground black or white pepper

Fry the onions and the garlic in the oil over a low-medium heat for a couple of minutes, until the onion is translucent but not brown. 

Add the potatoes and cook a further five minutes, stirring frequently. Now add the beans and the stock. 

Cover the pan and simmer gently for half an hour, by which time the potatoes and beans should be cooked through. If the stew looks like drying out, add a little more stock or some water. 

Season to taste and serve in bowls with some good crusty bread.