Mashed broad bean dip with lemon and garlic

Mashed broad bean dip with lemon and garlic is a traditional side dish enjoyed in the Greek islands; these legumes are strongly associated with less dementia.

But to make this into a "super-nutrition" dish there are a few provisos.

1. Choose only freshly-harvested firm young pods; you may have to grow them.
2. Don't "double pod" the beans; it is tedious, time-consuming and makes them highly glycaemic.
3. Use the whole lemon pulp and not just the juice; you lose out on more than half of the special nutrients that make this citrus fruit into a super food.

Slow food, made fast is our motto; don't skin the beans or squeeze the lemon.

Your mashed broad dip is a bit like a chickpea hummus but without the tahini. In fact there is no reason not to add some of the sesame seed paste if you want to enrich it further.

Broad bean dip with optional cheese slice

Written by Dr. Bernard Preston (BSc, BEd and DC)

Disclaimer

Enjoy your mashed broad bean dish warm if you are having it a condiment to go with hot food; chill it first if you are going to enjoy it with a Greek salad.

Notice these broad beans have no "black eye." They are still young and tender.

Get the balance right

It's your choice whether to use more or less olive oil; you could even make it with none. Then obviously you must add extra water.

So get the olive oil to water ratio right for the meal your mashed broad bean dip is accompanying. Less greasy alongside a soup might be good but on bread you would want more.

You decide whether you want one, three or six cloves of garlic.

Legumes have little flavour of their own; consider adding a little chili or a peppadew.

There are only two strong requirements. Don't skin the beans or it will contribute to insulin-resistance; and do not toss the lemon pulp or you will lose out on more than half of the beta-cryptoxanthin. That's the phytonutrient that will help prevent you losing your marbles.

Blue Zone longevity

Blue Zone longevity is a complex mix of lifestyle factors that enables one in three of these people to be still very active and enjoying zestful lives at ninety. Ten times as many reach one hundred.

In all five Blue Zone countries the people grow and eat broad beans. What gives them the distinct edge over all the other legumes is the L-dopa. It is the only natural source of pharmaceutical amounts of the precursor of the hormone lacking in those with Parkinson's Disease.

It's only been definitely proved in white mice to date but enjoying broad beans regularly actually appears to prevent the disease; it is currently the fastest growing neurodegenerative condition in the world.

Mashed broad bean dip with lemon and garlic

Mashed broad bean dip with lemon and garlic is a rich source of L-dopa, the precursor of the important hormone.

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