BEAUTIFUL BORLOTTIES

We are in the process of harvesting our borlotti beans. Every year we grow them as much for their beauty as for their utility. Borlotti beans, which suit our climate absolutely perfectly, have fabulous, long deep pink speckled pods. They grow from tall plants, in the manner of runner beans, packing each one with a profusion of colours. As they ripen the pods turn a mottled brown, become very crisp and then split open, spilling the beans into the ground (if you are not careful).

This year we have been somewhat taken by surprise. The summer started off wet and cool, but recent weeks have been blistering hot. The beans have ripened very quickly. I went to inspect (and photograph) them earlier this week and found that we had reached the splitting and spilling stage already. I picked some, but then Richard did the bulk of the work yesterday and today while I was at work. It was a convenient time for that particular task as he sat at the kitchen table this morning podding borlotti beans while he watched team GB have such a sensational time in the rowing events. He shed a tear almost everytime one of them stood on the winner's podium and the National Anthem was played.

Rowing is a big sport in our family. Last year Richard, his brother and his nephew were at Eton Dorney. James and Archie were rowing and Richard was the man on the cycle racing along the bank beside them. At one point Archie fell in - so the rescue boat had an opportunity to get a bit of practice in too. Mark Hunter's father was in the boat, so the three of them felt as though they had been sprinkled with Olympic sparkle dust.

Anyway - back to the beans. The beans inside the pod are also speckled and remain so once you have dried them. I do this by putting them in a wicker basket, leaving them in a dry and airy place (shelf in kitchen) and turning them with my hands every few days until they are all absolutely dry and hard. Then I store them in airtight Le Parfait jars for use in the winter. You can also eat them fresh - my favourite way is to make a sort of hummus with them using tahini, lemon juice and olive oil in the usual way and then adding some leafy herbs (such as coriander or chives or parsley) at the last minute.

Last year some of my stored beans were attacked by insects called bean seed beetles. These little monsters lay eggs in the bean pod as the seeds are developing. You don't notice them as you harvest, cook and eat the beans (!) but when you store them for use in the winter - or for sowing the following year - the maggots/beetles emerge leaving little holes in the bean as they eat their way out. Yuk - a bit of unwanted additional protein in our soups and stews. Broad beans are apparently their favourite residence, but borlotties are clearly popular too. There is no known means of prevention and seeds attacked in this way normally germinate successfully.

Once you have harvested the beans make sure you leave the roots in the ground and dig them in to help set nitrogen in the soil as per usual with a legume.