First Harvest...

Having left my wheelbarrow out in my garden on Saturday, fresh from lugging bags of compost from the car, I reckon we have had 6 or 7 inches of rain in the last 2 days, as it is full of water. My garden was in desperate need of a thorough soaking instead of the half-hearted spray from the hose that it gets most evenings, if I can be bothered.

Yesterday I set out to collect my first harvest of the year in the form of broad beans. I sowed the beans last autumn and planted them out in March. Having pinched the tips out to try and prevent black fly (thanks, Jamie Oliver, for the tip!) I collected a colander of pods, plus my morning eggs.

Nestled inside the velvet-lined pods were these little beans.

Exactly what was needed for a radish and broad bean salad from my new favourite cookbook - Ottolenghi, the cookbook.

It was delicious, made with just simple ingredients (although I had to omit the preserved lemon) - radish, broad beans, red onion, coriander, lemon juice and olive oil. Nice and colourful too...