When we discovered food writer Aine Carlin we couldn't resist sending her some of our carlin peas. She was delighted to find she shared her name with a pea (after all, her blog is called PeaSoup!) and quickly put our gift to good use.
Our Essex grown and milled quinoa flour lends a nutty edge to Bread Workshop Sue's white loaf, it also brings a range of amino acids and micro nutrients not present in wheat flour - delicious and nutritious!
Sue, who looks after our bookkeeping, is a great baker - in fact she teaches bread making all over Norfolk and Suffolk at her Bread Workshops. Naturally we were delighted when she brought in some of these delicious Carlin pea brownies!.
This recipe from Vicky Jones, which features in her book Out of the Pod, works wonderfully with our whole fava beans - the earthy meatiness of the beans combining perfectly with the fennel and red wine.
This fava bean and tomato loaf with salsa verde topping was one of the dishes served at our Pulse Feast - part of a global celebration to mark the launch of the International Year of Pulses.
Carol Kearns our talented illustrator, also writes a baking column for EDP Norfolk Magazine, a few months ago she came up with this gluten free fava bean, ginger and sweet potato cake - easy to bake, great to eat.
Carlin Peas (or black badgers, brown badgers, grey peas, maple peas, black peas...) make a great substitute for Puy lentils or chickpeas in salads, stews, curries and dips, but traditionally they're eaten 'parched' - particularly in the north of England and especially on Bonfire Night.
In Morocco Split Dried Fava Beans are used as the main ingredient of bessara, a spiced dish that can be served as a dip much like houmous or as a soup.
For Lindsey Dickson of The Eating Tree our marrowfat peas evoke memories of her feisty Yorkshire Grandmother. Here Lindsey uses them to make tasty spinach and pea cakes - perfect for a light lunch.
With a nod to the famous Ärtsoppa, traditionally served in Swedish homes on a Thursday evening, Lindsey Dickson of The Eating Tree has come up with a warming whole yellow pea soup.
Lindsey Dickson's Black Badger bars are an energy and protein packed version of a brownie, but with the addition of ground almonds, dried apricots and Black Badger Carlin Peas.
