bean salad question

I've got 'green beans' (french beans?) 'yellow beans' (wax beans) and 'purple beans' (??_ growing in my allotment, which are all like the 'string beans'  I grew up with.   But I think broad beans are VILE!!! And I'm not a big fan of runner beans, though I like them better than broad beans. 

I think the American term for 'runner beans' is "Italian Cut Green Beans"? But not sure  
Maybe you can find them fresh, otherwise, Libby's or Delmonte do them canned. You may be able to find them frozen as well.  

Send me your broad beans, L! They're quite possibly my favourite things in the universe! 

Send me your broad beans, L! They're quite possibly my favourite things in the universe! 

What do you do with them?  Any special recipes or hints?  I must confess I don't like them very much myself, but am willing to keep trying!

What do you do with them?  Any special recipes or hints?  I must confess I don't like them very much myself, but am willing to keep trying!

I love the taste of them, so I don't do much to them at all. Just boil them lightly in salted water. If you want to sort of disguise them, then there are other options but those wouldn't be for me!

However, a friend of mine makes a lovely broad bean, pea and mint dip.

Thanks for all the info, folks. I wonder if I can find something more like a British runner bean at one of the big farmers markets?

Phatbeetle, I always cut the runners on the diagonal into bite size pieces boiled or steamed them until just tender and served with lemon butter.

We just had some (parboiled) broad beans with spinach, garlic, red onions, red bell pepper, all sauted up with good oil, salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper with grated cheese and mixed with a WW spaghetti.  I like broad beans though.

My husband prefers them either roasted or curried.  They aren't his favourite.

We just had some (parboiled) broad beans with spinach, garlic, red onions, red bell pepper, all sauted up with good oil, salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper with grated cheese

That sounds really nice!

I also had them at a restaurant last week in a delicious salad of rocket, beetroot, feta cheese, mint and walnuts.

Thanks, it was pretty good.

I think if you can brown them some way after boiling them, it changes the flavour a bit for people who don't like them.  You can also make a broad bean hummus type thing and mix in different flavours to complement the sort of distinct flavour.  We've been getting them every week with our veg box recently, so I've had to figure out a million and one ways of making them so my husband will eat them. 

So when do you remove the thick skin on the beans (or do you)?  After boiling?  How do you do it?

After boiling, yes. But I'm one of those weird people who likes the thick skin. Yes, I know. It's strange. On really big, older beans I might take it off. But on nice green young ones, I like it.

I think the American term for 'runner beans' is "Italian Cut Green Beans"? But not sure  

I can go with this. So can the Allens Canned Vegetable company

Fun Facts about Italian Green Beans

Italian beans are sometimes called Romano or Runner beans. Their flat pods are twice as wide as the rounded pods of regular string beans.

And the Cook's Thesaurus:

Italian flat bean = Romano bean = runner bean

http://www.foodsubs.com/Snapbean.html

and the ones on the Libby's can are definitely runner beans...

Yeah, the Cook's thesaurus is written by a BrE speaker, IIRC.  But:

Italian flat bean = Romano bean = runner bean  Notes:  These green or yellow beans are like ordinary green beans, but they're flatter.   Select small, brightly colored beans that snap when you break them in half.  Substitutes: green bean (Green beans have a rounder pod than Italian flat beans, but they can be used interchangeably in most recipes.) 

Emphasis mine.  I still think they're a type of green beans just like the others.

For what it's worth, I asked my husband earlier how he'd describe runner beans and and he said "blech".  I asked him what the difference between them and green beans and he said they were green beans.  Maybe he's spending too much time with Americans.  Or maybe it's just his dislike of most green beans.  He generally will eat any veg, but green beans and broad beans are the only things I struggle constantly with getting him to eat.  He will eat green beans (any of them) with bacon grease and pepper.

As for broad beans, I shuck them and try to pull the string off the beans before boiling.  I never thought of boiling them in the pod.  We were sent a recipe to cook up the pods of small broad beans, but I figured I wouldn't bother with me being the only one who'd eat it.  I think the pods are a bit cool though.  Not sure if I'd like to eat them or not.

Emphasis mine.  I still think they're a type of green beans just like the others.

I still think that generic "green beans" are an American thing.

What do you do with them?  Any special recipes or hints?  I must confess I don't like them very much myself, but am willing to keep trying!

The fabulous Eat the Seasons website is featuring broad beans this week, along with some really nice sounding recipes if you're still interested. Risotti, dip, soup, etc.!