Pickled runner beans.......

[pumpy]

........ no, it didn't appeal to me either. But having tasted them, gorgeous!! If anyone is interested i'll put the recepi on here.

[Carltonian Man]

Please, post it Pumpy. Sounds interesting

[jim]

Dear Pumpy,

Have tried salted runners and they're ok if you soak them well before cooking. This year, when picking the last of the runners to use for next years seed, I found I had about 3 pound dryweight of them. Far too many for next season. I gave lots to friends but still had plenty left, so made hummus from them .... it's not bad and 4oz of dried beans makes a lot of hummus.
Soak 4oz of beans overnight.
Boil them for 10 mins and discard the water to get rid of the aflotoxin.
Boil in fresh water with savory to counter the gale force wind, and plenty of flavouring. I used bay, rosemary, garlic and a chilli.
When the beans are soft, drain and place in blender removing the coarser flavourings. (At this point I added another 2 chillis because I have barbaric tastes.) Put in salt to taste and add olive oil as the blender is going until the correct consistency is achived. A little lemon juice helps too.

Very nice on fresh bread or oatcake,

Love and Peace
Jim

[gregorach]

........ no, it didn't appeal to me either. But having tasted them, gorgeous!! If anyone is interested i'll put the recepi on here.

Would this be Delia's recipe by any chance? Yeah, I wasn't too hopeful, but it is indeed delicious and a great way to use up the inevitable runner bean glut. Just make sure you don't let the beans get too old and stringy before picking.

[Millymollymandy]

If it's Delia's I make it every year - we love it!

[clanpowell]

Mrs Powell made the River Cottage ones this year. As they round ere - They were gert lush. Pam Corbins pickle liquid is really sweet.

[Biscombe]

Has anyone got any ideas about how to preserve them sliced in jars without pickling (too much pickle in our house!)

[jim]

Dear Biscombe,

Yes, salt them. You'll need a big jar -like they used to have in sweet shops - put in an inch-thick layer of salt, an inch-thick layer of sliced runners, another layer of salt and so on until the jar is full. Make sure you soak them for a couple of hours in several changes of water before cooking.

Love and Peace
Jim

[bonniethomas06]

Seconding Delia's recipe here, I opened my first jar at Chrismas...lovely.

Mind you I think they take a few months to 'mature', because they are much nicer now than when I tasted them immediately after cooking.

Didn't soak them, just sliced very thinly, and they are fine - reminds me a bit of Picalilli.

[demi]

Has anyone got any ideas about how to preserve them sliced in jars without pickling (too much pickle in our house!)

if you dont want them pickled or salted you can cook them in a tomato base sauce with some lemon juice, herbs, garlic and salt&pepper, then jar them up into steralized jars and stick them in a water bath for 25min.
or you could omit the herbs and garlic and just do them plain in tomatoe sauce with lemon juice and some salt.

the acidity of the tomatoes and lemon juice is enough to preserve any veg in this way with the water bath.

[seasidegirl]

All these ideas are great but I've never had a glut. Last year was a terrible crop and we barely had enough to eat in season let alone store.

[Biscombe]

Thanks demi, never thought of adding them to canned tomato sauce, doh!