Kitchen Garden Forum

Following on from John's comment in the "Height of Climbing French Bean - Blauhilde" thread, I'm puzzled by the cooking reference.

John, you say that Bright Lights turns an unappealing brown colour when cooked. This isn't my experience. The leaves remain green and the stems red/pink. What are you doing with the stuff?

Mine doesn't change colour either. I cook it like a spinach. I just pour boiling water and a little salt over it and leave for 30 seconds to a minute. Then drain well, a little butter and black pepper.

Personally, I prefer it raw but I prefer most vegetables in their raw state.

I wonder if it's being cooked in too much water? I tend to put in only enough water to barely cover the base of the saucepan and then effectively steam it for about 3 minutes or until the leaves wilt. It doesn't need much cooking at all. However, even when cooked like this I find it still tastes quite earthy and prefer the green variety. But for a colourful plant which will also look well in a flower border you can't beat Bright Lights.

we use the stems as well as the leaves, chop the stems and steam ,they retain their colours.

I once tried stir frying it and it went brown, maybe this is what he means...?