There's so much to love about spring - the longer days, the blossoms that promise summer fruits and, of course, the veritable bounty of fresh produce suddenly appearing at market stalls. Among those that I look forward to most are asparagus and broad beans, and while I've tried the ever-delicious broadies in almost every guise, I've never in fact eaten them whole.

Young broad beans are something you just don't ever see, and with most of my springtime feasting being sourced from the generous gardens of S&R I can certainly appreciate the unwillingness to sacrifice a crop early when there's the potential for so much more. But as luck would have it, a recent discussion between S&R and their equally green-thumbed neighbours revealed two very important things: (i) they were also growing broad beans this year; and (ii) they don't like them. It was a rotation crop that was destined to be turned over while the plants were still young, and so with a quick 'yes please' and 'thank you' away we went...

Sticking with some time-honoured combinations I made a variation on Stephanie's andalusian broad beans, substituting almonds for breadcrumbs, bacon for ham, and parsley for what herbs were at hand.

After a slow braise in the oven they emerged tender and delicious, and produced an interesting variation on flavour from their older counterparts. A fabulous addition to the accompaniment repertoire they're definitely something worth trying if you manage to track yourself down some young 'uns...