Borlotti Bean and Squash Mole

I found this recipe online after picking the three main ingredients in the garden this afternoon - a happy coincidence. The addition of the chocolate made a really rich sauce which, mixed with chilli, was delicious.

~1 1/2 cups (7 ounces) fresh borlotti beans
~1 1/2 cups (7 ounces) winter squash
olive oil
4 - 5 big leaves of kale (3 1/2 ounces)
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, chopped
2 - 4 red jalapeno chiles, halved, seeded, and chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 pound of fresh plum tomatoes, chopped or 14-ounce can
2 teaspoons paprika
1 ounce of almonds, dark roasted and finely ground
2 ounces dark 70% dark chocolate, broken into pieces
salt

Preheat oven to 180C / 350F / Gas mark 4. Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil, add the borlotti beans and cook for about 10-15 minute until they are just cooked or even slightly undercooked. Drain and cool under cold running water, and set aside.
Cut the squash flesh into good-sized chunks, about 2 cm or 3/4-inch squares, place them in a roasting pan and toss with olive oil. Roast them in the oven for about 20 minutes until caramelized on the outside but still firm. Reduce the oven temperature to 130C/ 250F / Gas mark 1/2. (hs note: alternately, you can brown the squash in a skillet.)
Without removing the central stem, cut the kale across the leaf into 2cm / 3/4-inch slices. Melt the butter into an oven-proof casserole dish (pot) and fry the onion and chilies gently over a low to medium heat for 20-30 minutes, until caramelized. Add the garlic and fry for three minutes more. Add the tomatoes and paprika, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer gently for 15 minutes. Add the ground almonds, chocolate, squash, borlotti beans, kale, and a teaspoon of salt. Stir until the chocolate has melted. Cover the casserole and put it in the oven to cook gently for 2 hours.
Serves 4.

 

These borlotti beans were really easy to grow and were grown as part of a "three sisters" planting - sweetcorn, squash and borlotti beans growing up the sweetcorn.  Borlotti beans work really well for this type of planting because you don't pick them as you go along - you just wait until they are all ready and pick the lot in one go, so you can pick them once the sweetcorn are finished and don't risk damaging the sweetcorn plants whilst they are in full flow.  The yields weren't enormous but all I did to plant them was to stick the beans in the ground in around May, so they were very easy.  (well in fact my nine-year-old planted them).   Apart from anything they are incredibly beautiful so worth it just for that.  The seeds I used were Franchi seeds, bought from Swarkestone nurseries.