If you’ve ever driven through the Irish countryside, you’ve likely passed fields bursting with fava beans—though most of them aren’t destined for our plates. Instead, they’re grown for industrial livestock mega-farms, a crying shame because they’re one of the easiest, most climate-friendly, and downright delicious crops we produce. How did we get it so wrong? Why has such an incredible cropping plant that should be benefitting nature as well as our health and our pockets been reduced to one that destroys it in a bid to maximise profit at any cost?
Hardy, nitrogen-fixing, and requiring little more than rain (of which we have plenty), they thrive in British soil. Yet, despite our long history of humble, hearty dishes, the martock bean has been all but forgotten. Martock beans are an ancient 12th century cultivar of fava beans, incredibly tough, resilient and very low maintenance, ideal for the beginner gardener. You can buy seeds online, in schemes to restore our crop diversity and keep landrace varieties alive: just 20 species provides 90% of our global food, and just three – rice, maize and wheat – over half. (Hunt, 2025)
What happens when the climate changes too much to grow them?
Enter colcannon, the creamy, comforting mash-up of spuds and greens that’s been warming Irish bellies for centuries. And, of course, the British have their own thrifty take in bubble and squeak, frying up yesterday’s leftovers into crisp, golden cakes. This fava bean colcannon Cake is everything good food should be: crispy-edged, soft-centred, packed with homegrown goodness, and unapologetically smothered in cultured butter (it is a treat day). They celebrate a future where we eat more of what we grow, less of what we import, and plenty of what actually nourishes us. Plus, they pair beautifully with a pint, which is what really matters on upcoming Paddy’s Day.
Fava bean colcannon
- 450g dried fava beans, soaked overnight
- 2-3 large potatoes, washed
- 200g mixed brassicas, like Red Russian or curly kale, komatsuna or even leftover cauliflower leaves
- 200g cabbage or sauerkraut
- 75g butter, plus extra to finish
- A big bunch flat leaf parsley
- 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
- Salt and pepper
Preheat the oven to 200C. Bake the potatoes whole for 45 minutes to an hour and a half, depending on size, until soft and fluffy.
Drain and rinse the beans. Add them to a heavy-based saucepan with good pinch of salt and cover with water, bring to boil then simmer till soft about 35- 40 minutes. Next, wash and finely slice the fresh brassicas. In a large pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Then sauté the greens, kraut and garlic for about 6-8 minutes. Drain the beans over a bowl and set the water aside to freeze later and use for other things, like these citrussy-sweet treats. You can either give the beans a quick spin in a food processor or mash them with a potato masher, but I think the potato masher is easier and gives a nicer texture.
Halve the baked spuds and scoop out the fluffy interior. Set the skins aside for these frijole and mushroom ‘tacos’. Add the potato and mashed beans to the pan with chopped parsley and mix thoroughly, checking the seasoning for salt and adding a good few grinds of black pepper. Butter an oven proof dish and pour the mash mix into it, spread it out evenly then brush melted butter over the top. Bake in preheated oven 200c 180 fan for 35-40 minutes till golden and crispy around the edges.
Works for brekkie, lunch or dinner; I love the leftovers shaped into patties and refried, topped with a fried egg and pickles. I often double up on the beans and baked potato, then use the extras throughout the week. Preheating your oven or boiling a pan of water only once and cooking a lot of stuff while it’s hot sounds like a no-brainer, but it can go a long way towards your energy bills.
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Hunt, S. (2025) We Must Begin With the Land. Zer0 Books: London.