Broad Bean Toast with Whipped Cottage Cheese
Broad bean toast with whipped cottage cheese is an easy, fresh and summery lunch idea. It’s made with broad beans and peas tossed in a lemon and herb dressing which are piled onto minty, garlicky whipped cottage cheese and crunchy toast. The recipe is protein rich, nutritious and so very delicious.
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Make the most of broad bean season. If you’ve got a glut from the garden or picked up a bag at the market, this is a delicious way to enjoy them while they’re at their best. We’ve just harvested ours. Most have gone into the freezer, but I’ve made this recipe several times.
Dive Right In
- What Are Broad Beans?
- Broad Bean Flavour Pairings
- Why You’ll Love This Broad Bean Toast
- Garlicky Whipped Cottage Cheese & Broad Bean Toast
- Ingredients, Additions And Variations
- How To Make Broad Bean Toast with Whipped Cottage Cheese
- Other Broad Bean Recipes You Might Like
- Other Cottage Cheese Recipes You Might Like
- Keep In Touch
- Pin It
- The Recipe
What Are Broad Beans?
Broad beans are a type of fava bean (Vicia faba), which is a legume in the Fabaceae family. It’s widely grown in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East where it was first cultivated over 10,000 years ago for its edible seed and nitrogen fixing properties.
Whilst they’re inherently the same thing, broad beans are harvested whilst still green and fresh. What we generally refer to as fava beans are dried on the plant for preserving and are more brown in colour. In the UK, broad beans are generally ready to harvest during the months of June and July.
They’re a good source of plant-based protein and are rich in fibre, iron and vitamins A, B1 and B2.
We grew field beans instead of broad beans this year. Field beans are another name for fava beans and are mostly grown on an agricultural scale for drying. They’re smaller than broad beans, but just as delicious, if not more so. And they grow and produce really well.
Broad Bean Flavour Pairings
Broad beans are something of an acquired taste, but one well worth acquiring. I wasn’t keen on them as a child, yet now I look forward to broad bean season every year. My mother, on the other hand, has always loved them. In fact they’re her favourite vegetable.
Their flavour is slightly sweet, slightly nutty and just a little bitter. If the beans are young or you take the time to slip off their outer skins, any bitterness all but disappears.
When it comes to cooking, they pair well with the following:
- Citrus – brightens and lifts the earthy flavour of broad beans. Lemon makes a particularly good match.
- Herbs – mint, chives, dill, tarragon, basil and parsley add freshness, whilst garlic and chilli add complexity and heat.
- Dairy – creamy and salty cheeses balance the beans’ earthy notes.
- Vegetables – peas, asparagus and tomatoes are classic seasonal partners for broad beans.
Why You’ll Love This Broad Bean Toast
- A celebration of early summer produce – Fresh broad beans, sweet peas and fragrant herbs come together in a simple recipe that lets seasonal ingredients shine.
- Ready in around 20 minutes – Quick enough for an easy lunch, light supper or leisurely weekend brunch.
- Packed with flavour – A zingy lemon and herb dressing, minty garlicky whipped cottage cheese and a hint of chilli (if you like) create plenty of contrast in every bite.
- High in protein and fibre – Broad beans and cottage cheese make this a satisfying vegetarian meal that keeps you feeling fuller for longer.
- Creamy, crisp and fresh – Creamy whipped cottage cheese, crunchy toast and tender beans make every mouthful a moment of joy.
- Easy to adapt – Swap the herbs, leave out the chilli or serve on your favourite type of bread.
Broad Bean Toast
Fresh broad beans, sweet peas and fragrant herbs come together in this simple recipe that lets these early summer ingredients shine. Whether homegrown, from the market or the freezer, it makes the most of the beans’ nutty, earthy flavour.
I used field beans rather than broad beans and picked them whilst still young and tender. This is how I prefer my broad beans too. And it means there’s no need to double pod them, because I find that a real pain.
However, if you prefer them double podded or buy ones that are more mature, you may well want to take off the outer skins. The results are delicious, but it’s labour intensive and you lose an awful lot of the bean. This means you’ll need to double the amount of beans in this recipe if you go down that route.
To remove bitter leathery skins, you’ll need to blanch the beans in boiling water for two to four minutes, depending on size and age. Let them cool, then slip off the outer skins. The vibrant green beans left behind are sweet and creamy and require no further cooking.
The minty, garlicky whipped cottage cheese is a synch to make and only takes a couple of minutes.
Bring the broad beans and whipped cheese together and serve them on toast and you have the perfect protein-rich summer lunch or light supper. Enjoy all those different flavours and textures popping in the mouth.
Ingredients, Additions and Variations
Just a few simple ingredients are all that’s needed to make this whipped cottage cheese and broad bean toast recipe. However, they come together with impressive results.
Beans and Peas
You can use either fresh or frozen peas and broad beans for this recipe. If using fresh, you’ll need to pod them first. Either way you may (or may not) want to double pod the broad beans.
I only double pod when the beans are old and tough.
As a variation you can use only broad beans or only peas, though I reckon the two together are the best. The smaller number of peas don’t detract from the beans, but add welcome pops of sweetness that enhance them.
Cottage Cheese
Use full fat cottage cheese. It makes for a much creamier spread. And cottage cheese is already quite low in calories, so there’s not a big benefit in using low or zero fat varieties.
Aromatics
Lemon zest adds a nice zesty touch to the whipped cheese, but it’s mostly about the mint and garlic. Be generous with the mint and use a nice plump clove of garlic.
For the beans it’s all about the lemon juice and olive oil. The lemon makes the beans sing and the oil gives them a rich pepperiness. Use as good a quality extra virgin olive oil as you can.
As with the mint, use lots of chives to give a light but distinct onion boost to the beans.
If you fancy different herbs, try dill instead of mint and maybe parsley instead of chives. Or just play around with your favourites.
I find fresh chilli works brilliantly in the beans, but I leave that to you as an optional extra. You can use a red or green chilli, but green works better with the colour scheme.
Bread
Loading bread with lots of topping requires something fairly sturdy. I like toasted wholemeal sourdough, but really just use your favourite bread – as long as it’s a robust one.
Although I haven’t tried them, I reckon bagels would work as would a thickly sliced baguette.
How To Make Broad Bean Toast with Whipped Cottage Cheese
Although this is potentially a very quick and easy recipe, preparation time will vary depending on whether you use fresh or frozen beans and whether you double pod them or not.
Please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post for cooking times, measurements and quantities of ingredients used.
Step 1. Drain Cottage Cheese
Scrape the cottage cheese into a fine mesh sieve (affiliate link) suspended over something to catch the liquid. Leave it to drain for five minutes whilst you prepare the beans.
Top Tip – I’ve tried making the whipped cottage cheese without draining the cheese first, but as a spread it’s not quite thick enough. However, if you want to make it as a dip, you don’t need to drain it.
Step 2. Prepare Beans
If you have beans in their pods, then remove them first by opening the pod and pushing the beans out with your thumb. If you’re using frozen beans, you have less work to do.
Likewise, if using fresh beans you’ll need to take them out of their pods first.
Remove the leaves from the mint stems and set aside. Hang on to the stems though.
Bring a small pan of water to the boil and add a pinch of salt. As soon as its boiling add the beans and mint stems.
Turn the heat down a little and boil gently (a bit harder than a simmer) until the beans are tender when pierced with a knife. Add the peas after the first couple of minutes.
Drain well and remove the mint stems. Usually I keep vegetable water for adding to soups, stews, gravies and the like. But broad bean water tastes quite bitter, so I discard it.
Step 3. Make Dressing
Whilst the beans are cooking, snip the chives into a small bowl and juice the lemon. But make sure you’ve zested the lemon first, as it’s hard to do afterwards.
Halve the chilli, if using and remove the seeds and membranes with a teaspoon or knife. Try not to use your hands as I did; chilli heat is hard to remove. Finely chop the chilli.
Place the salt, chilli (if using), lemon juice and oil into a larger bowl and give a good stir. Transfer the warm beans and peas into the bowl and stir carefully so that everything is well coated in the dressing.
Add the chives and stir again.
Step 4. Toast Bread
Toast the bread slices using your preferred method. I use a toaster.
Step 5. Whip Cheese
Place the mint leaves into a measuring jug or other tall sturdy vessel, reserving a few of the smaller ones for finishing.
Roughly chop the garlic and add to the jug along with the pepper. Finely grate in the lemon zest. I use a microplane (affiliate link) for this, which makes a quick and easy job of it.
Tip in the cheese, then whip the lot with a stick blender (affiliate link) until smooth. It doesn’t take long. You can also do this in a food processor or for an ultra smooth consistency use a power blender.
Top Tip – To serve this minty, garlicky whipped cottage cheese as a dip, transfer it to a bowl and garnish with a drizzle of olive oil and a few mint leaves.
Step 6. Construct Toasts
Divide the whipped cheese between the four slices of toast and spread it out to the edges to cover each one.
Spoon the beans over the top, drizzling any leftover dressing over the beans.
Garnish with the reserved mint leaves and tuck in whilst the toast and beans are still warm.
Other Broad Bean Recipes You Might Like
- Ful medames (Egyptian fava bean stew) (vegan)
- Green summer soup with parsley & almond pesto
- Homemade falafel with fava beans (vegan)
- Jewelled Persian rice with tahdig
- Minted broad bean spread (vegan)
- Vegetarian tartiflette
Other Cottage Cheese Recipes You Might Like
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Broad Bean Toast with Whipped Cottage Cheese. PIN IT.
Broad Bean Toast with Whipped Cottage Cheese
Ingredients
- 200 g broad beans freshly podded or frozen
- 50 g peas freshly podded or frozen
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 10 chives
- 2 pinch sea salt
- 1 green chilli (optional) – seeds and membranes removed then finely chopped
- 4 slices wholemeal sourdough bread (or bread of your choice) – toasted
Whipped Cottage Cheese
- 300 g cottage cheese
- ½ bunch fresh mint leaves
- 1 clove garlic large plump clove
- 1 organic lemon zest finely grated (and one half juiced for dressing)
- good grinding of black pepper
Instructions
- Scrape the cottage cheese into a sieve suspended over something to catch the liquid. Leave it to drain for five minutes whilst you prepare the beans.300 g cottage cheese
- Remove the leaves from the mint stems and set aside. Hang on to the stems though.
- Bring a small pan of water to the boil and add a pinch of salt. As soon as its boiling add the beans and mint stems.1 pinch sea salt, 200 g broad beans
- Turn the heat down a little and boil gently (a bit harder than a simmer) for 4-5 minutes or as soon as the beans are tender when pierced with a knife. Add the peas after the first couple of minutes.50 g peas
- Drain well and remove the mint stems.
- Whilst the beans are cooking, snip the chives into a bowl. Add the salt, chilli, lemon juice and oil and give a good stir. Transfer the warm beans into the bowl and stir carefully so that everything is well coated in the dressing.2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, 10 chives, 1 pinch sea salt, 1 green chilli
- Tip the drained cottage cheese into a sturdy jug.
- Add the mint leaves, reserving a few of the smaller ones for finishing.½ bunch fresh mint leaves
- Roughly chop the garlic and add to the jug along with the lemon zest and pepper.1 clove garlic, 1 organic lemon, good grinding of black pepper
- Whip the cheese with a stick blender until smooth. It doesn’t take long. You can also do this in a food processor or for an ultra smooth consistency use a power blender.
- Divide the whipped cheese between the four slices of toast and spread it out to cover.4 slices wholemeal sourdough bread
- Spoon the beans over the top, drizzling over any leftover dressing.
- Garnish with the reserved mint leaves and tuck in whilst the toast and beans are still warm.
Notes
Nutrition Estimate
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