If you planted broad beans for a spring crop, you probably have a glut right about now. This Moroccan dip is a tasty way to eat your way through a broad bean glut, without the hassle of having to double shell.

Gardener extraordinaire and chef Stephanie Alexander's recipe for byessar - a Moroccan dip - comes from The Cook's Companion. This and The Kitchen Garden Companion are, along with a Margaret Fulton cook book, my most referenced cooking bibles.

Stephanie recommends serving this dip with toasted pita bread and fat black olives. I have to admit, we didn't even get to garnishing ours.

INGREDIENTS

1kg broad beans, shelled
2 cloves garlic, chopped to a paste
1 teaspoon chopped oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
150ml extra virgin olive oil
salt and ground black pepper

WHAT TO DO

Once your broad beans are shelled place them into a rolling boil of salted water and boil for 15mins. You'll want to reserve the cooking water for later on so drain over a pan or heat-proof bowl to collect it. Let the beans and water cool a little and then tip half a cup of the reserved water into a blender along with the beans and all the other ingredients. Blitz it. If it's stodgy, add a little extra water until the dip's the right consistency.

Stephanie's directions actually suggest garnishing with a slurp of olive oil and a shake each of paprika, chilli powder and ground cumin, topping it all off with finely chopped spring onions.

Yum!