Serves 4
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Ingredients:
11⁄2 cups small fava beans, defrosted if frozen
6 oz sugar snap peas, trimmed
6 oz fine young trimmed asparagus, cut into
1 inch pieces
6 tablespoons butter
8 scallions, sliced
2 garlic cloves, chopped
33⁄4 cups chicken stock or vegetable stock
1 thyme sprig
15 pearl onions, peeled
10 baby turnips or 3 small turnips, cut into wedges
5 small carrots, about 8 oz
11⁄2 tablespoons fresh
lemon juice
salt and black pepper
chopped chervil or parsley, to garnish
Directions:
Cook the fava beans (if using fresh ones), sugar snap peas, and asparagus in salted boiling water for 2–3 minutes, then plunge immediately into a bowl of ice-cold water. This is known as blanching. Drain and set aside. Pop the fava beans out of their skins.
Melt the butter in a large, flameproof casserole over a low heat, add the scallions and garlic, and cook, without coloring, for 3 minutes, until softened. Add the stock and thyme and bring to a boil, then add the pearl onions. Cover the casserole and simmer for 5 minutes.
Add the turnips, bring back to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 6–8 minutes. Add the carrots and cook for 5–6 minutes. Season with salt, black pepper, and lemon juice. Add the beans, peas, and asparagus and heat through.
Serve garnished with the chopped herbs.
For navarin of lamb:
Blanch the beans, peas, and asparagus as above. Heat 6 tablespoons butter in a large, flameproof casserole dish and lightly fry 4 lamb chops or cutlets for 2 minutes on each side with the garlic (omit the scallions). Add the stock and thyme and bring to a boil, adding the pearl onions, scrubbed new potatoes, about 71⁄2 oz (instead of the turnips), and the carrots. Continue to cook as above, simmering for 5 minutes, and then cooking for an additional 15 minutes. Add 4 oz trimmed baby leeks for the final 5 minutes of cooking. Serve garnished with chopped chervil.
Excerpted with permission from 200 Thirty-Minute Meals, Hamlyn All Color. Copyright Octopus Publishing Group Ltd 2010.
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