There’s still tortilla in the fridge, the first of the broad beans are finally starting to appear and, inspired by the Spanish theme yesterday I keep thinking about ‘habas con jamon’ to serve with the leftovers. Habas, or beans, are one of the most common things served in tapas bars in Spain and though they can be horrible if overdone, over-oiled and out of season, at this time of year the young ones are delicious especially like this. This is a dish that is low on ingredients and effort and, if you close your eyes and block out the sound of the drizzle, the taste could almost transport you to sunnier climes…

For two, as a side dish (you’ll need to add some starch or double the quantities to make a meal out of it)

You will need:
Cupboard (or things you may already have)
Salt (not pepper; it’s not a very Spanish taste in something like this I find)
Olive oil, 1-2 tablespoons
Garlic, 1 clove

Shopping list
Fresh broad beans, 500g unpodded (sounds a lot but those pods are fat with nothingness)
½ spring onion
Bacon, 2 rashers of smoked streaky (about 40g) or about the same weight of Serrano ham

How to
1. First, pod the beans, peel and chop the garlic, cut the bacon or ham into small pieces, then top and tail the ½ spring onion and chop it finely.
2. In a frying pan, over a low heat, warm the olive oil then soften the garlic and spring onion in it for a couple of minutes until transparent and slightly soft.
3. Add the bacon/ham to the pan and cook it for a couple of minutes.
4. Finally add the podded beans, stir them around in the mixture and leave to cook for about ten minutes, stirring every so often. The skins will split as they cook and, if you can be faffed, you can remove them before eating but, if they’re nice, fresh young beans the skins should be edible too.